Allies and Rivals
by Tonifranz
Summary: COMPLETED! The Rowdyruff Boys are back! Under the guidance of a new father, they got their revenge on the Powerpuff Girls, after which they seemed to change for the better. But a misheard conversation and a stupid bluff causes the Girls to think they're still evil, and they'll do anything to defeat the boys.
1. The Resurrection

This was my first story. Please read and review.

* * *

**Allies and Rivals**

The Rowdyruff Boys are back! But instead of trying to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, they compete with them instead, and thus starting a rivalry. They occasionally helped each other, but only when necessary. Disliking the girls, the boys became both Allies and Rivals to the girls.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. And I don't own any characters except for Dr Edwards.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**The Resurrection**

The Town of Citiesville was an altogether an unpleasant town. But it still attracts the nation's most brilliant minds, and one of them was working in his suburban home, in his laboratory in his basement.

Dr William Edwards was full of anticipation. As one of Citiesville's leading scientists and businessman, he was one of the country's renowned scientists. He was also the richest man in town, CEO and chairman of Edwards Technology Corporation, the largest technology corporation in the country.

"At last, all the ingredients are in place. Now, I shall prove once and for all that that Utonium is a fake. Imagine, trying to create powerful girls using sugar and spice and everything nice and combined with Chemical Xymperchite," Dr. Edwards said to himself as he readied his ingredients. There are snails, snips and a puppy dogs tail. "Not only does such a claim have no scientific basis, it in fact is ridiculous and more of a fairy tale than even science fiction!"

"Now, all is in place. Now, I, Dr. William Edwards, a renowned scientist, and head of the Edwards Technology Corp., will shortly conduct the experiment which once and for all will prove that Professor John Utonium misled the scientific community and the public in general when he announced that the Powerpuff Girls are composed of sugar, spice and everything nice with Chemical Xymperchite, or Chemical X, as I will from now on refer to," he said as he turned on the camera that he had installed to record the event. Behind him are various mathematical formulas.

"However, I will not begin with the so-called ingredients, sugar and spice and 'everything nice. Instead, I have procured from one of my informants the ingredients of the so-called Rowdyruff Boys who were created by the genius of a monkey called Mojo-Jojo, using the same Chemical X with new ingredients. They were destroyed, but their basic ingredients have not been lost, and I was able to procure it. Now, in trying to redo the experiment, I am one step ahead in proving that John Utonium is a fraud."

He said it with no trace of any emotion whatsoever, saying it in a cold detached way that nevertheless would send chills to the nerves of anyone who happens to be listening. A hint of anger and hatred could be deduced, but by and large, his tone didn't betray the emotions conveyed by his words.

Dr. Edwards began mixing the ingredients, and he then prepared to make the fateful step of adding chemical X. He mixed the chemical, and stepped back. He sincerely expected it to fail. He could not convince his logical and scientific mind that Professor Utonium's formula was correct. And the fact that he intensely hated the professor didn't persuade him either. So, he started the experiment, that in a way that neither he nor anyone else at that time would intend, would change the lives of the Powerpuff Girls and the City of Townsville, and would alter the course of his life.

He expected failure, and it was in vain, for he unexpectedly succeeded, thus crushing his hopes for humiliating his hated rival. For in a flash of light, a light and harmless explosion, there stood the Rowdyruff Boys, resplendent in their poses and possessing their arrogant smirks, forever crushing Edwards' hopes of disproving his rival. The boys themselves looked as they appeared when they were destroyed. They were three, one with black hair, green shirt and black pants, one blond and blue eyed and dressed in blue, the third a redhead with a red cap with matching eyes. However, the use of refined Chemical X, unlike the raw form that Mojo Jojo used to create the original Rowdyruff Boys, made small but noticeable changes in the boys. For example, Brick's had has its brim forward instead of backward, and his voice is higher, but lost none of its original lucidity, an in fact made it more beautiful. Boomer's voice is the same, while Butch is higher. And in due time, more changes in their personalities would be apparent.

"Who are you and where are those sissies?" Brick, the leader, said.

Dr. Edwards was in shock. He fully expected the experiment to fail, and when he unexpectedly succeeded, he was taken aback, astonished, stunned. He could not comprehend why he had not failed. He had followed the Professor's steps, if only to make sure he got it right so he could throw the results to his face. But his incomprehension of his success didn't prevent him from communicating with his recreations.

"I am Dr. William Edwards and I have recreated you," he said, the tone of his voice betraying his nervousness. "As for the Powerpuff girls, they are alive and are presently in Townsville."

"Well, since you are so kind as to tell us where those girls are, we won't kick your butt," Brick said as he and his brothers prepared to attack their enemies.

"Wait boys," Dr. Edwards shouted at the boys as they left. They stopped just short of the ceiling of the basement laboratory.

"What?"

"Where are you going?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Why should you know?"

"Well, first of all, I am you creator, your second father so to speak. Thus I am responsible for what you do. Second, I can provide you with a home and we could be a family. What do you say?"

Brick began to think.

"Let's take it Brick. I always wondered how those Powerpuff's lived, with all the family and all, and now we get to enjoy it!" Boomer suddenly said with much anticipation. Although he can be capable of great cruelty and heartlessness, in reality, he had the heart of a little boy, only doing despicable things because he thought they were fun. He acted and talked liked a bully because he thought it was cool.

Brick seemed to be taken aback by his brother's enthusiasm. He decided to ask Butch what he though of the matter.

"What 'bout you Butch?"

"Well, it a pretty good idea to me. Why not? I'd rather stay with him that with Mojo, at least we can have a place to stay and not be ashamed of our 'father.' Of course, Mojo's cool, but I'd rather live with a human than with a monkey with an oversized brain," Butch said.

"Well, then, Doctor, we'll accept your offer. But only after we destroy those annoying pests," Brick said. "Come on, boys, let's destroy them so we can go back and start our new life!"

"Wait," Dr. Edwards shouted. "Why do you want to destroy them?"

"Well, duh, they destroyed us, we want revenge!" Butch said with much sarcasm.

"Well, you can't destroy them," Dr. Edwards flatly stated, which sounded like an order.

"Look, we need to defeat them. How else could we regain our pride as a group if we don't destroy them," Brick reasoned.

"Besides, they cheated. We won fair and square, and they cheated to destroy us," Boomer said, remembering the fight.

"In short, we hate them," Butch said, summarizing the feeling of the group towards their female counterparts.

"Look boys, I understand how you feel. But I do have a better solution," Dr. Edwards proposed.

"Well?" Boomer said.

"What if, instead of destroying them, why don't you just beat them in a fight without destroying them?" Dr. Edwards proposed.

"Now why would we want to do that?" Boomer asked, his childlike tone gone at the mention of the Powerpuff Girls. "They destroyed us. It's only fair that they get their just desserts!"

"Well, wouldn't it be better if they would live knowing that they were beaten, instead of going down in a blaze of glory in a fight? What would be more humiliating than somebody who has never been beaten before to be defeated, and with the knowledge that they continue to exist due to the fact that they were spared?"

Boomer and Butch had blank expressions, Brick smirked more, and his eyes brightened.

"Oh I get it!" the red haired leader exclaimed. "You're right Doctor, this is much better than destroying them. Much better, and more enjoyable!"

"What are you talking about?" Boomer and Butch asked.

They understood the words, only they could not comprehend their meaning.

Dr. Edwards sighed. "Let me put it this way. If you let them live, you could always brag them and tease them on how you kicked their butt."

"Yeah!" Boomer shouted. He is the most peaceful of the three, yet violent compared to the Powerpuff Girls. He was just relieved that he could have revenge without killing or destroying anyone.

"What the heck?" Butch said, his reaction quite different from that of his Blue eyed brother. "I rather blow them to kingdom come!"

"Butch, don't you get it?" Brick exclaimed. "We could kick their butt over and over if we let them live. If we kill them, it would be boring, for we have nobody worth our power to kick around. With them, we could always have a decent fight."

"Well, if you put it that way, I'm in," Butch said, though he was still unsure of his brother's plan. Still, he was willing to trust his brother and his new father figure on this.

"Okay, Doctor, what your plan?" Brick asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What do we do now?"

"Well, you haven't eaten yet, so I'll have the maid fix you some snacks while I prepare your room," Dr. Edwards said. "In the meantime, you could roam around the house and do whatever normal six year old kids do…with superpowers of course," he said. "Then, tomorrow morning, we'll plan the future."

* * *

The boys quickly scanned the house, while the doctor went to his room and packed all his things except for the bed. He then put packed boxes in the storage room and set to remodel his room to fit the boys. Luckily, he used an oversized bed for himself so that all three boys would fit.

The boys discovered the TV, and soon, they were attached to it. Butch wanted to watch gore and violence, so he wanted to watch one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's movies, Boomer wanted to watch Sponge Bob, while Brick wanted to watch the Discovery channel. In the end, before they could watch anything, the Doctor called them to eat.

"We should have watched Terminator 6! At least we could have watched something, but you wanted to watch Sesame Street," Butch said derisively.

"The movie you want to watch has too much gore and violence Butch. And the so-called plot is so poorly done that it is obvious that they inserted it just to make sense of all the bloodshed," Brick replied.

"You're the one to talk. Well at least it's better than watching a documentary on whatever you wanted to watch. And besides, how'd you know about the plot? We never did watch it because both of you wanted to watch shows for sissies and nerdies," the green rowdyruff replied.

"For your information, the documentary I wanted to watch is about Machiavelli and his ideas, the plot I read at Dad…I mean Dr. Edwards' movie guide, and Machiavelli's ideas are not for nerds," Brick asserted.

"Yeah, and Sponge Bob is not for sissies," Boomer added.

"Now boys, let's not fight over TV shows, okay?" Dr. Edwards interjected. "Besides we have more important matters to talk about," he said as they all settled down around the dinner table.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing, tomorrow, we'll go back to Townsville," the Doctor answered.

"What do you mean, 'go back', Dad…I mean Dr. Edwards," Boomer asked. "And where are we?"

"Well, you were first created there, so you are, in a sense, going back there. I grew up there, and left Townsville when I went to college, so I am going back."

"But where are we?"

"We're in Citisville," Dr. Edwards replied. He then continued. "I own a large track of land the edge of Townsville's suburbs. In fact, I own the largest track of land in Townsville. I own a house at that piece of land, and we'll move in there tomorrow."

"Cool," Brick said. "Then we'll kick the Powerpuff Girl's butt tomorrow!"

"Not so fast Brick," Dr. Edwards said. "You need to train first so that you could fare better against them. And we still don't know if them kissing you will destroy you."

Brick, Butch and Boomer cringed at the memory. It was all too clear how they were cheated out of their victory. They instantly began to make coughing sounds and began wiping their cheeks with their hands.

"Yuck, yuck, thanks for reminding us," Butch sarcastically said as he ran to the bathroom and frantically started washing his cheeks with soap.

"We have cooties!" Boomer panicked, then started after Butch trying to wash of the 'stain'.

Even the normally cool and controlled Brick took a handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping his cheek.

"Now why all the fuss? Is it because you were kissed by little girls or due to the fact that those little girls were the Powerpuff Girls," Dr. Edwards said in an amused tone.

"We were kissed by girls," Brick said as he cringed at the thought.

"Well, aside from the fact that it caused your destruction, it seemed to me that you liked it," Dr. Edwards teased, he was by this time laughing out loud.

"Ha! NO WAY! NOT IN A MILLION YEARS DAD I mean Doctor!" Brick shouted. "I would never ever like being kissed by any girl ever," the six-year-old declared.

"US TOO!" Boomer and Brick declared.

"Well, you'll change your minds about girls when you grow up," Dr. Edwards said.

"Na-ah, girls have cooties, especially those Powerpuff Girls," Brick said, his tone in saying 'Powerpuff Girls' full of hatred, disgust and contempt.

Dr. Edwards detected the tone and decided to steer the conversation back to where it was supposed to be. "Anyway, regardless of whether or not you liked the kiss…"

"We do not!" The three interrupted.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted," he then stared down his boys, "that kiss triggered a chemical reaction which in a few seconds caused your basic ingredients to revert back to original form. My guess is that the kiss made the Chemical X already dangerously unstable to disintegrate, thus leaving you only with your basic ingredients, ultimately making you three non-existent."

Butch and Boomer had blank expressions in their face. "What?"

"What the professor said is that the kiss destroyed us," Brick said as a matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Boomer and Butch said with the look of enlightenment in their faces.

"Anyway, I used a different form of Chemical X, one which is more stable than the one Mojo used. I am not sure whether or not kissing you again will destroy you. If you wanted to fight now or tomorrow, you will have to take the risk of being destroyed. But if we plan ahead, I could research and test if a kiss from a girl would affect you any way in your present composition. I'll also show you tapes of all the girls' fights. I want you to study all of them, see their weaknesses, and plan your strategy."

"Oh I get it, if we wait, we would gain time and would surely defeat the Powerpuff Girls, while if we attack tomorrow, we _could_be beaten," Brick said.

"But we kicked their butts last time!" Butch protested.

"Well Butch, you three fought brilliantly, but as I saw it, you three kinda had a hard time before ultimately defeating them. Now, the Powerpuff's Girls' skills improved considerably since that time, and I'm not sure you could beat them using the same strategy. Now, if you train first and observe how they fight in all their battles in record, you could revise your strategy or make new ones. And also, I'll teach you all I know on everything so that you could be superior to the girls in every way, not only in fighting."

"What do you mean?" Boomer said. "How will that help us in our revenge?"

"You see, if there's one thing the three girls believe themselves to be, it's that they are the best citizens in all Townsville, among the kids at least. Though they don't tell it out loud, they feel, either consciously or subconsciously, to be superior to everybody. Their actions all show this. Besides, wouldn't it be great to have their ego shattered when they discovered that they were surpassed by three boys who were their former enemies, that they're not the best like they always believed themselves to be?"

"You're right, Doctor, they won't be high and mighty once we get through with them," Brick concurred.

"Then you agree, of course, to my conditions?"

"Yeah, Dad…I mean Doctor," all three shouted just before they devoured the last of the meal.

* * *

It was about bedtime. All three were dressed in the huge pyjamas of Dr. Edwards. And considering that Dr. Edwards is over 6 feet tall, they were huge and very loose. Anyway, the boys happily accepted them, and soon, were tucked in by the Doctor in his bed.

"Goodnight boys," William Edwards said, as he finally tucked the covers over the boys.

"Goodnight Doctor," all three said in unison.

As the doctor was about to leave, Boomer suddenly said something.

"Doctor, could we call you Dad?" the Blue Rowdyruff requested.

Dr. Edwards was shaken at this suggestion. True, he had grown to love the three in just a short span of time, a few hours in fact. Yet he always felt that the feeling was not mutual. True, he always heard the Boys slip and call him Dad, but he regarded them as mistakes on the part of _his_ boys, and resigned himself that the boys would feel nothing for him as a father figure.

So he was visibly shaken, and visibly pleased. After a twinge of nervousness, he smiled, and said, "sure Boomer, and that goes to the three of you," he then paused, look intently at his sons, sleepy yet awake, then said, "my sons."

"Thanks Dad," Brick said, this time without any hesitation. "Does that mean that we are a family?"

"Yes son, yes," Dr. Edwards said. "Goodnight," he abruptly said and turned around. Before leaving, he turned around to ask if they would like the door to be closed. Yet it was all moot for they were all asleep, and he closed the door.

'Professor Utonium, how wrong I am in assuming you faked the creation of the Powerpuff Girs,' he thought as he ascended the stairs to brush his teeth and wash his face. 'Now I can't expose you as the fraud you are. No matter, thanks to you, I had gained something far more valuable than the satisfaction of seeing you humiliated. Yes, the boys, though an accident, are still my sons and nothing can change that. You gave me a purpose in life other than making you pay. But remember Utonium, I still hate you with all my heart for what you did to me before, and I will always do. I'm sure, no, I know the feeling is mutual. To Boomer, Butch and Brick, though I didn't expect you, I welcome you nonetheless. You brought joy into my lonely heart and a new purpose in life. In all my life I hadn't to learned to love anyone I met to within six months after I first met them, yet you managed to make me love you in just a few short hours. I can't explain why that is so, but no matter. I promise that you will have the best of this world. You will be my heirs, and will inherit the wealth and the land and honor of my family. I shall love you as a father shall love his sons, unconditionally, and would make you into respectable members of the society. I will also allow you to have your revenge on those girls, for it is obvious that you hated them. But I would make sure that what you do will be within the bounds of the law.'

By this time, he had finished washing, is in his pyjamas, and is walking towards the couch. He then lied down, and slept.

'Yes, tomorrow would be an interesting day,' Dr. Edwards said as he fell asleep.


	2. Arrival in Townsville

To Hairy Gregory, Violet Smith, lilangel, Uncle Sam and TJ Rose, thanks for the kind words.

* * *

**Allies and Rivals**

**Chapter 2**

**Arrival at Townsville**

* * *

The City of Townsville, a wonderful place where four new residents would arrive soon. Let's first look at their preparations at Citiesville.

* * *

It is Tuesday, July 6, in the first year.

"Wake up, boys!" the doctor gently said at the three sleeping figures. "It's time for breakfast!"

Brick yawned and looked at the clock. It read 6:30 a.m.

"Five minutes, Dad, five minutes…" he said and fell back asleep.

"Now boys, we have to get up early. The drive to Townsville will take hours," the Doctor stated. "I would like us to get there before dark."

"Why don't we just fly (yawn) you and the (yawn) stuff to Townsville," Butch sleepily asked.

"Because then you would be discovered. I don't want those girls to know about you before you three are ready," their surrogate father stated. "Besides, the first one in the kitchen table would get the dessert."

"DESSERT!" the three shouted, and in a blink of an eye, were tastily eyeing the delicious breakfast Dr. Edwards' maid made earlier at the dining table.

'Worked like a charm,' the doctor thought. He went to the kitchen, where he saw the three boys, all sitting in attention waiting for him. The funny thing was, they haven't gotten out of their extremely oversized pyjamas.

"Now boys, before you could eat, you must change out of your PJ's and…" before he could finish, flashes of blue, red and green swooshed past him. One minute later, they were back on the table in their respective red, blue and green outfits in the table.

"Good," the Doctor said. "What are you waiting for?"

"Well," Boomer explained, "Brick said that since you are our Dad, we must wait for you before we could take a bite."

"That's nice Brick," William Edwards said. "But next time, you can start without me, though don't finish without me on the table."

Dr. Edwards noticed that Butch stuck out his tongue at Brick, but he ignored it as he and the boys began to eat their breakfast.

* * *

One hour later, they were in the Doctor's car, with Dr. Edwards himself driving, while Brick was in the front seat, feasting his eyes on the sights that he was seeing for the very first time ever. Butch and Boomer were on the back seat, and they were also busy looking at the sights. They soon were bombarding the Doctor with more questions than he could handle, but like a good father, he tried to adequately answer all of them.

Behind them are two movers' trucks carrying all their possessions.

At about 10 in the morning, they stopped at a country mall in the middle of nowhere.

"What's that?" Brick asked, astonished.

"That's a mall, Brick. Today, we're going to go shopping!"

"Shopping for what?" Butch asked.

"For your things, of course!"

"Yeah!" Boomer and Butch shouted at the same time, high-fiving each other. "That's cool. Can we go over there now?"

"Not yet. We have to look for a place to park the car and the trucks."

Considering that the parking lot was almost deserted, it didn't take long for the Edwards family to locate a spot for both the car and the two trucks. He parked the car, gave the two truck drivers money so they too can shop, and took the three boys to the mall.

He gave his three boys a tour of the mall, making explanations as to what they would buy and where they would get it.

"First of all, we've got to get you new clothes. Then we will buy furniture for your room, and finally toys and books."

"Where will we get them?" asked Boomer who stared at the innumerable stalls.

"At the appropriate shops," Dr Edwards said.

The three boys looked bored at the clothes and furnitures departments, always nodding when their father asked them if they liked this clothes or that furniture, and trying to get this over as soon as possible. But as soon as they got to the toy store, they ran in all directions, grabbed everything they want, and rushed outside. But the Doctor scolded them.

"Boys, just what do you think you're doing?"

"We're taking the stuff," Brick said.

"Do you have the money to pay for the stuff?"

"No, but why should we pay?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah, they can't arrest us, we'll just kick their butt," Butch reasoned.

Thus the Doctor faced another challenge of raising his new sons. 'This seems to be a problem. They seemed to have no moral compass, and have no conception of right and wrong, and only what is fun and not,' he thought. 'I'll try to correct them early on, or else they would be lost by society, and thus they cannot be what they can become. I wonder if that bastard Utonium had these sort of problems with his girls?'

"Now boys, it's wrong to take things in the store without paying for it."

"Why?" all three answered in unison.

"Because those things are not yours until you exchanged them for money. Taking it without paying is tantamount to stealing," Dr. Edwards lectured.

"And your point is?" Butch asked.

'Damn it, now I know that appealing to their sense of right and wrong won't work, because they don't have one. I'll have to develop it in them, but for now, I'll have to appeal to their self-interest.'

"Because if you steal, you'd be much worst than those Powerpuff Girls in the eyes of the people, and I know you are much better than they are and would return the items. Besides, I won't be raising my sons as thieves," the doctor stated with a serious and stern tone.

The boys looked at each other, and seconds later, they had all properly returned all the items. They returned it because they don't want to be thought of as inferior to the girls, and because they not only love their foster father, but also greatly respected him. They don't want to disappoint him or to make him disapprove of them. After they returned the items to the mall, they looked at the doctor in shame.

"Now boys, as your reward, I want you to get all that you want and line up at the counter where I'll pay for your items," he said happy that the Rowdyruffs at least obeyed him.

The boys quickly yelled. "Thank you, Dad, we promise never to steal again," the three shouted almost in unison and they began to pick any toy and book they could get their hands on.

Brick mainly got one laptop, three sets of encyclopedias, Machiavelli's _The_ _Prince_, _The_ _Art_ _of_ _War_, several CD strategy games, a chess and checkers set, toy soldiers, remote control race cars, several copies of the Powerpuff Girls fights in tape and many more.

Boomer got toy cars, matchboxes, a toy telephone, a doctor kit set, a teddy bear, several remote control race cars, water guns, modelling clay, water color, coloring books, a Mario Brothers CD, play money, a baseball bat and many more.

Butch got punching bags, dumbbells and barbells, a baseball bat, a basketball, several footballs, a counterstrike CD, several health books, a remote control race car, a toy robot, a pack of cards, boxing gloves, and many more.

"And how will you pay for all this stuff?" asked the astounded cashier on seeing so many toys.

"Easy," Dr. Edwards said as handed his credit card. It says, Dr. William K. Edwards, CEO and President, Edwards Technology Corporation (Edtech Corp.). Upon seeing the card, the cashier man was in a state of shock. One does not see one of the richest men in Townsville and Citiesville shopping in this isolated mall everyday.

"Hold on a minute sir," he said, handing back the card to the Doctor and running towards the manager.

The reason the doctor had up to this point been inconspicuous was because in appearance, he is very average looking. Six feet two inches tall, brown hair, oversized glasses, ordinary clothes, age about the same as Utonium. His face was not yet widely known, and because of the ordinariness of his name, nobody would suspect that he is _the_ William Edwards, because there are thousands of people named William Edwards out there.

The cashier clerk returned with the manager.

"You better not be fooling, or I'll…Dr. Edwards sir, how nice of you to come visit this mall…," he said as he saw the doctor.

The two engaged in business talk, with Edwards clearly the controlling partner. Brick listened while the rest were bored.

* * *

For eight hours, nothing of consequence happened. They just drove through the countryside with the trucks carrying their things and newly shopped items, stopping occasionally to eat, with the boys either sleeping or asking questions about something they had just seen outside.

They arrived at about seven p.m. at their new house at the very edge of the suburbs of Townsville. Since it was summer, it was still quite bright.

"This is Townsville, the city where I grew up and where I hope you will too. And that is our house," Dr. Edwards said, proudly pointing to the house on the west side of the street. It looked liked a typical suburban house, two stories tall, with an attic.

"Cool," all three said at the same time. Soon, the boys were exploring the house with the doctor supervising the movers in moving in all their things. Soon, the house was full of boxes.

"Boys," he shouted at the top of his voice, "before we can get settled in, let's first unpack the things and arrange them around the house."

Seconds after he uttered those words, all the things were neatly unpacked. A few more seconds, Dr. Edwards keep hearing questions from the boys on where to put this and that and those. Dr. Edwards smiled and carefully directed the operation. Soon, except for the boys' room, they were done.

"Brick, Boomer, Butch, let's go see your room, and don't forget to get your things," he directed.

The Rowdyruff Boys got all their things that they could carry and followed the good doctor to their rooms. They were excited as they anticipated what their room would be like.

They finally got to their room. It was vast, occupying one third of the second floor. As luck would have it, it was painted light blue, with three separate beds on it.

"Wow Dad, how'd you know, I mean, you couldn't simply furnish it because we were just created yesterday and…" Brick asked, excited but a little curious.

"A little phone call to the right people, and voila…I'm not the richest man in Townsville and Citisville for nothing, you know," the doctor stated. "Anyway, pick your bed and arrange your new things in whatever way you like, I'll order some pizza.

And so it was that the Rowdyruff Boys fixed their entire room then ate pizza for dinner.

* * *

The next morning, on July 7, Wednesday, saw the Edwards family eating breakfast. Since Edwards was probably one of the worst cooks in town, the breakfast consisted of bread with peanut butter or mayonnaise. Today was the first day the training of the boys.

"Now boys, today we'll all spend the time watching videotapes of the Powerpuff Girls' fights. Since the tapes I ordered haven't arrived yet, you'll start studying the tapes that Brick bought at the mall. Do you know how to operate a VCR?"

"Of course Dad, no sweat," Brick said.

"Okay, let's go."

They all went to the living room while Brick went to their room to get the tapes. Soon, all four of them were watching the Powerpuff Girls. They were scenes captured by the Townsville media of their fights against the monsters and villains of the city.

Dr. Edwards lectured on what scenes they should concentrate on to learn as much as possible of the girls' fighting techniques and personalities. Brick didn't need to be told twice, as he intently observed the strategies and tactics of the girls. Soon, he was talking to himself, scribbling notes on a piece of paper. He made them watch so many replays. In one case in watching the girls fight the monster in _'Three Girls and a Monster_', he replayed it twelve times before he was satisfied.

'Hm, Blossom made a mistake with her formations. They should have retreated and lured the monster out of the city, Blossom and Buttercup are always fighting…they were distracted by those stupid people…now I know how stupid that mayor is…so they didn't like competition ha,' he thought as he watched the girls destroy Major Man's reputation. 'That Major Man has all the powers, and he couldn't possibly have faked all of them, too bad he had to fake some of them, that ruined him…Blossom is definitely a good leader, though she had trouble reining Buttercup, but Buttercup ultimately would come to her senses in any fight that matters. Blossom could handle her headstrong sister. However if she was a better leader, then she would be more subtle in her dealings with her sisters…still, most of their fights against stupid monsters were needlessly prolonged by inferior strategy and tactics…Mojo Jojo is smart, if kinda kooky, they're more competent at fighting villains, although they were certainly helped by the incompetence of their enemies…'

Butch observed the fights also, and focused on how strong they were and how aggressive they are in the fights. He also watched so many replays of various fights. 'That Bubbles is a sissy, Buttercup is much better, though she sometimes had her senses knocked out of her…They should have charged forward instead of making elaborate stratagems…I like the fighting style of Buttercup, at least she isn't a goody two shoes like her sisters…hm, they should've beaten up those kids (referring to _Mojo Jonesin'_)…damn it, are they so scared as to beat up those losers (_Fallen Arches_)…they're not so good after all…'

Boomer also observed the fights, but concentrated on their personality. 'That Blossom is sometimes too bossy, Buttercup is a bully…that Him is evil, although, no one can match our evil…for good guys, they sure are unfair in their punishments…they're not so good (in the moral sense of the word) as they are made out to be…they should have left them, instead of beating them up.'

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Powerpuff Girls home…

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were looking at the old album filled with black and white pictures of the Professor during his high school days.

"Yup, that's the professor all right," Blossom exclaimed at seeing the tall boy with a mean face and a dark shirt standing straight and looking at the camera.

"Hey look," Bubbles exclaimed upon seeing a group picture.

The picture shows Professor John Utonium in the middle, somewhat stooped as one of his friends reaches over and ruffles Utonium's hair. Sandra Keane looks on disapprovingly, yet a trace of laughter can be observed. Sarah Bellum was so close to the camera that her head wasn't in the picture. A fat kid with a snobbish attitude looks on with amusement while another boy looks on the camera.

"Wow, there's the professor, Ms. Bellum, Ms. Keane, Mike Believe's Dad, hey who's that guy ruffling the professor's hair?" Bubbles asked.

"Let's look at the captions," Blossom suggested, and Blossom began to read aloud. "The Gang. That's me in the middle my hair being ruffled by the oh so smart William K. Edwards, Sandra Keane scolding us for being so naughty, but she is laughing so she isn't serious, Sarah Bellum got a little to close to the camera. Henry Believe is the only one I think who posed. And that fat kid looking at us is Spencer Morebucks," Blossom read.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I know who the rest is, but who is William K. Edwards?" Buttercup asked.

"Let's look at other pictures," Blossom suggested, and soon they discovered that Edwards' picture was all over the album, sometimes by himself, mostly with the Professor, and sometimes as a group picture with the 'Gang'. Always the captions read as 'My friend, my best friend, or simply 'William'.

"I wonder what happened to him?" Bubbles wondered. "The Professor and William looked like best friends in these pictures."

"Let's ask the professor," Buttercup suggested, and soon, all three agreed.

"Professor!" Bubbles shouted.

"What is it girls?" asked the professor, emerging from the laboratory.

"Well professor, we were looking at your old photo albums and we saw a group picture with you on it, and we saw all your friends that are all grown up, and we noticed someone, who judging by the pictures, was your friend. And why is he the only one who we don't see today?" Blossom asked.

"Where's the picture?" the Professor asked.

"Here," Buttercup pointed to the one ruffling the Professor's hair in the picture. "The one you labelled as Will Edwards."

"Yeah Professor, how come Ms. Bellum, Mr. Morebucks, Mike's Dad, and Ms. Keane are here, but Mr. Edwards isn't anywhere near here or close to you?" Bubbles continued.

"And by the looks on the other pictures, you two were the best of friends," Buttercup added, quickly skimming his album to point to the fact. "Professor?"

Luckily for the professor, the girls were too busy looking at the picture to see John Utonium's face change into white, filled with a mixture of terror, guilt, shock and disorientation. But the situation only lasted a short time. The girls looked at their father and discovered the deathly white face of the professor.

"Professor? Professor? Earth to Professor?" Blossom called. "Gee Professor, you seemed like you saw a ghost."

"Professor, hello?" Buttercup called. "Snap out of it!"

John Utonium soon snapped out of it. "Girls, where on earth did you get this?" he asked, referring to the album.

"We were playing in the attic, and we decided to see some stuff, and we came across this," Bubbles explained.

"Anyway Professor, could we ask, why is that Mr. Edwards is the only one not here in Townsville among those in the picture, and especially since he was your best friend?" Blossom asked.

"We parted ways in college. I went back to Townsville and he uh…went some other place, yeah that's it, he went somewhere because he…uh, would do something important which is about…uh, um secret, yeah that's it, and I never saw him since then," the professor 'explained', nervous and sweating and obviously wishing to avoid the subject.

The girls, especially Blossom, noticed this, and a tiny part of her brain was telling her that the Professor was hiding something. But their trust in their professor was complete and absolute, so she brushed it aside.

"If you say so, Professor, if you say so. Professor, what if you wanted—" Blossom was going to ask, but fortunately for the Professor, the hotline rang.

"What is it Mayor?…It's Fuzzy?…What is he doing?…causing trouble again…we're on it Mayor!" Blossom said as he spoke to the Mayor. "Girls, it's…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Let's go!" Buttercup said. She, followed closely by Bubbles, flew to the City. Blossom, though annoyed, just sighed and went after them.

The Professor watched them and sighed. 'Damn it William, I thought I buried you far into my memory. I should have removed those pictures from my album, but now that the girls saw them, it is too late. I wonder where you are, you bastard. Last time I heard, you're now President and CEO of Edtech Corporation, a post you occupied since your father died. You're richer than Morebucks. Yet you so often disappeared that it is so hard to find you even though you are the richest man here in Townsville and Citiesville. And you're so obscure that many people don't even know who you are. Clever, clever, William. I just wonder, when will you show you face to me. Ha, ha, ha, I wonder if you are still as you were before, gullible, and too trusting,' he thought. 'I just hope the girls will forget about you.'

* * *

It is Thursday, July 8, in the first year.

Dr. Edwards and the Rowdyruff boys were walking down a long corridor of stairs.

They had just finished watching all the tapes. Since the rest of the tapes that he had ordered had arrived the day before at one in the afternoon, they spent the entire Wednesday afternoon and night reviewing the tapes (they spent the morning watching the tapes Brick bought on the mall). They also spent the entire Thursday morning and afternoon up to three o'clock watching the tapes they didn't have time for on Wednesday. They especially enjoyed watching their fight with the Powerpuff Girls, but winced when the Powerpuff Girls suddenly acted in a flirty manner just before they kissed them, then became very angry when they exploded.

Brick was in deep thought figuring out strategies on how to defeat them. Of course, all this strategizing would be useless if they were still vulnerable to kissing. If they were not, Brick was sure they will win next time because he had several strategies and tactics in his head to make sure that the Powerpuff Girls would be decisively defeated. They would regret they had ever crossed paths with the Rowdyruff Boys.

Butch was just looking forward to the fight that will happen and how he was going to enjoy every minute of kicking their butts.

Boomer was thinking how unfair the girls sometimes fought, and how they were not nice all the time. He was also thinking how to end the fight as quickly as possible, with the Rowdyruff Boys as winners of course.

They soon reached the bottom of the stairs, and Dr Edwards opened a door to a very short corridor. At the end of the corridor was a door to an elevator with a set of keypad numbers besides it. He quickly punched some numbers and a second later, the doors slid open.

The four entered the room, which was pitch black. The doctor flicked a switched, and soon, the eyes of the boys were treated to a sight of a very large laboratory. Inside the laboratory was a large training module. The entrance was by another door, and from the lab, you could see the progress through an overhead glass screen. An operator could adjust the training conditions.

"Wow Dad, when and how did you build this?" asked an amazed Brick.

"Well, three years ago, the government contracted me to build a training facility for their soldiers. It seems to me that the recent monster invasions in Townsville had prodded the federal government, heck even the President asked me, to train new soldiers to combat the new menace. So I went and made a laboratory with a training facility, combined with lifelike monster simulations. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on one's point of view, the Powerpuff Girls appeared, and the need for such a training facility disappeared. Luckily, I used my own money to build it so the building, if not the project, continued. It took one and a half years to dig out all the dirt without those nosey neighbors knowing, and another year to finish the entire lab."

"Gee Dad, if the government discontinued the lab, then why'd you continue the training facility?"

"Well, I thought it was cool to have my own underground lab. I guess I have been watching too much _Dexter's Lab_ episodes. Besides, I have already planned it all, I couldn't leave it at that just because the government pulled the plug. And I need someplace to dump my money," Dr. Edwards explained.

"Anyway," Dr. Edwards continued, "you can train here if you want. I have made simulations of the Powerpuff Girls and I have programmed them to act like the real ones. Now, I'm not sure if I got all of it correctly working, since I only finished with their simulations this morning, but they should do fine. Also, if you want, I still have the monsters I programmed when I first finished it so you can train with the monsters instead."

"COOL!" the three boys simultaneously cooed.

"Anyway, when do you want to begin," the doctor asked.

"Now!" all three shouted.

"Okay, now first, we will see how you do against my simulated Powerpuff Girls. Now I must warn you that my simulated Powerpuff Girls are much more powerful than the ones you battled last time."

"Will we get hurt?" asked Boomer.

"It depends. I have ten levels, ranging from one as the easiest, to twenty as the toughest. Now, you will start from level 1 then progress to level 10. Level 1 is the total sum of power of the Powerpuff Girls when you first fought them. Now, each level, I will add to their power, so that by the time you finished, they will be five times as strong as before. That means that if you are able to beat them at level 10, you will be five times as strong as you are now."

"So that means that when we complete level 10, we'll be wiping the floor with their faces?" asked Butch.

"Not necessarily. You see boys, the Powerpuff Girls had a lot more adventures and fights since the last fight, as you very well observed in the tapes. They had gotten much stronger, as I said before, than they were when you last fought them. So to take them on now will be tantamount to a suicide mission," Dr. Edwards explained.

"Now, to your question, yes you can get hurt. The simulations are not real of course, but their simulated punches that are relayed to your body by the computer room will have the same effect to your body as if a real punch or hit was registered. You could also destroy or kill the simulations, but be forewarned, don't kill the Powerpuff Girls simulation. You could knock those unconscious, but repeat, do not kill them. I will be very disappointed if you kill those simulations, for you might accidentally do so in the real world if you did it in the simulation room. Don't worry, you can beat them all you want to, but I don't want my sons to be murderers, got it?"

"Yes Dad," all three said simultaneously.

"Okay, now, we'll start at level 1. Brick, Butch, Boomer, you go through that door and it will lead you to the room below," he said, pointing to the large room that can be seen through the glass screen. "I'll keep to the controls here."

"Come on, let's kick some butt!" Brick said, rallying his men, err boys.

* * *

Seconds later, they were in the room fighting simulated versions of their female counterparts. Dr. Edwards from his station monitored everything from the type of damage the city sustained during the fight to the type of moves the Powerpuff Girls would do and what level the boys were in.

Since the simulated girls in that level pretty have the same strengths and strategies as the girls during their first fight with the Rowdyruff Boys, the boys pretty much took care of them using their old strategy. Then the doctor let loose a couple of huge simulated monsters on them, nearly overwhelming them, but five minutes later, ten monsters were in a pileup in the middle of the room.

The second level was much different than the first. The simulated Powerpuff Girls were much stronger and better tacticians than in the first one. They were repeatedly beaten, and Dr. Edwards terminated the training at six o'clock.

"But Dad, we were about to beat them," Butch complained as he was being pummelled to the ground by the simulated Buttercup.

"Yeah Dad," Brick complained as he wiped out the blood from his face, "we were wiping the floor with their—"

"Brick, of all people, I though you would know that you are in no way winning the fight. Boys, you used the same power and strategy to fight level 2 that you used to beat the simulated Powerpuff Girls in level 1. Maybe if you changed your strategy you might win. But that's enough for now. I'm taking you all out for dinner at McDonald's," Dr. Edwards stated.

"Yeah!" the three cheered, momentarily forgetting the beating.

"Now you three wash up and change your clothes," Dr. Edwards ordered.

No sooner had he finished the sentence than all three were racing towards the shower, even Butch.

* * *

Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles have just finished saving the day from one of the monsters that Townsville seemed to have on a regular basis. They were quietly and slowly flying back to their suburban home, each lost in her own thoughts.

"You know Blossom," Bubbles said, interrupting the silence, "have you noticed the Professor's face when we showed the high school picture of what's his name? Edward Williams? Well it seemed to me that professor got really nervous when he saw that picture."

"It's William Edwards, you knucklehead. Will Edwards," Buttercup shouted.

"Stop it Buttercup, Bubbles has a point there," Blossom replied. She too got lost in her thoughts and was silent for a minute. "Hey I got it!"

"Okay, let's here it, leader girl," Buttercup said, faking enthusiasm.

Blossom just ignored her sister and began the explanation. "You see girls, it is obvious that the professor, in seeing the picture, suddenly remembered his best friend when he was young. He was so shocked when he remembered him because he forgot all about him all these years. Us showing him the pictures reminded Professor Utonium of Mr. Edwards, his best friend! He was overwhelmed by the fact! Obviously, the way the professor acted yesterday and this morning could only signify the fact that he wanted to see his childhood best friend as soon as possible."

"You mean to say that him seeing the picture caused him to remember his best friend?" asked Bubbles.

"Yup!" Blossom explained.

"And what does it mean for us?" asked Buttercup.

"What it means, my dear sister, is we must find where this William Knox Edwards is and try to bring him to the Professor. It'd be perfect. Professor would be overjoyed to see him and we would get all the credit."

"Well, if the Professor misses this Bill Edwards so much, why don't the professor just find him by himself?" asked an exasperated Buttercup, not quite believing her sister's words.

"First of all, its William, not Bill Edwards, and secondly, the Professor is too busy to find his best friend, so it's up to us," Blossom replied, as a matter-of-factly.

"Well Blossom, you should know anyone who is named William is called Bill by his friends, and I guess there's no dissuading you from doing this crazy mission right?"

"You got that right, Buttercup. So are you two in?" Blossom asked in a tone that would give the impression of giving an order rather than asking.

"Well, I'll do anything to make the professor happy. I'm in," Bubbles replied.

"Well I think you're leading us in a wild goose-chase, but I'm in," Buttercup replied.

"Good," Blossom firmly said. "We begin our search for Mr. William Edwards tomorrow. And you two don't tell a single soul of what we're doing. We want this to be a surprise for the professor."

"Are you sure about this Blossom?" Buttercup asked one last time.

"Of course Buttercup. My plans never fail!" the Powerpuff leader replied.

With that, they flew at top speed to their home.


	3. The Confrontation

**Allies and Rivals**

**Chapter 3**

**The Confrontation**

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

**Note:** I reread the second chapter and noticed many spelling and grammatical errors. I apologize for those errors and the inconvenience it may have caused. I also noticed that I dated both Tuesday and Wednesday July 6. I would like to say that Wednesday is July 7, not July 6. I also made a mistake on the number of levels in the training room. To clarify, it is ten, not twenty.

Anyway, I have cleaned up the entire chapter, so if you reread it, it would be free of those mistakes. If I missed some, I apologize.

* * *

The City of Townsville, and it was July 9, Friday, in the first year.

Brick, Butch and Boomer at it again at the second level. Brick had insisted on training again right after breakfast. Dr. Edwards at first would not allow it but relented after he made Brick promise that they would only train in the morning.

"Butch, Boomer, Afterburner Attack!" Brick shouted, and he and his brothers charged the Powerpuff simulations. The simulations, however, were faster than anticipated, and they were to dodge the attacks of the boys. They then quickly counterattacked, sending them crashing down. Not contented, the simulations followed the boys down so that they beat them up when they hit the floor. The boys recovered however, and soon were able to push them back and take a fighting position some distance away from the simulations.

"Brick, this isn't working," Boomer said.

"I know," Brick replied. "We've got to do this a little differently. Boomer, Butch, let's do Plan A1."

"Are you sure about that Brick?" asked Butch.

"Yeah, do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Nah, it'll take too much time. Let's just do it, okay?"

"Then let's kick their butts!" Brick shouted, and the three of them charged. Brick charged Bubbles, Boomer charged Buttercup, and Butch charged Blossom. They charged, and charged upon the smirking simulations, until at the last moment, they changed their course and struck their counterparts, meaning Brick struck Blossom, Butch hit Buttercup, and Boomer clobbered Bubbles. The change in tactics surprised the simulated girls, and the fact that they were hit in the sides instead of head-on increased the effectiveness of the attack. They had slowed them down long enough for them to be able to catch up and give the girls a thorough beating.

"It's now or never!" Brick shouted, and soon, Brick temporarily left Blossom alone and joined Boomer fight Bubbles. They double punched the simulated Bubbles, and the impact threw her down. Boomer and Brick then quickly shifted their attention to the recovered Blossom and assaulted her at the same time. After a long fight, Brick and Boomer were finally able to defeat the simulation simply by virtue of their superior numbers. Then they made the final blow which knocked out the simulated Blossom for hours to come.

They knocked the simulated Blossom just in time, for the simulated Bubbles just recovered and charged Boomer and Brick. Brick and Boomer then received her flurry of punches and kicks. Then Brick and Boomer then laser eyed the simulated Bubbles. Then the simulated Bubbles charged angrily at Boomer, who was surprised at the fury of the attack. He had a hard time fending her off, but Brick stepped in and hit her at the back. Soon, the simulated Bubbles was unconscious.

Dr. Edwards was all time observing the training from the glass ceiling. 'The boys have improved a lot since last night,' he thought. 'Whereas they just attacked and attacked yesterday, today, they actually used tactics and strategy. Those three work great together,' Dr. Edwards observed. 'I hope you'll be able to maintain such teamwork. But now I know that they can beat the Powerpuff Girls if they can complete the training. I just hope they don't overdo it so they won't accidentally maim one of the girls for life.'

* * *

Meanwhile, Butch and the simulated Buttercup were having a slugfest. They punched, kicked, laser-eyed, and clobbered each other as if there was no tomorrow. His lips were bleeding, but his face had a sadistic smile, even if he had a black eye. 'I hadn't had this much fun since the last fight. Now to win,' Butch thought.

The Buttercup simulation was no less worse. Her hair was a mess, and her face, like Butch's, was bleeding. The simulated Buttercup charged and punched Butch on the stomach very hard. Butch just smiled and punched the Buttercup simulation in the face. She was pushed back a little bit but then retaliated with a laser eye beam. Butch managed to dodge but when he did, he was kicked in the face.

And so the fight dragged on to a stalemate. Each devastating blow was matched with a devastating counterblow, and this dragged on and on. It would seem that of the two, no one was winning. But if one would look closely, it would be obvious that Butch has the upper hand. He has a slightly greater capacity to take punishment, and it was beginning to show. However, Boomer and Brick joined the fight, and in one minute, the fight was all over.

"Great!" the doctor said. "You definitely improved since yesterday, and I am very proud of you three." He then turned some dials, and seconds later, where there was a wrecked Townsville simulation, there was now a lab with metal walls.

"Thanks, dad," Brick replied. He had been hungry for commendation from their new father figure, and Dr. Edwards, to his credit, gave all he could give.

"Could we go to level 3 now?" asked Boomer.

"Not yet. You will have two more fights with the simulated Powerpuff Girls, fights with more powerful monsters, then have individual fights with the simulated girls and more monsters. If you pass these, then you could go to level 3."

"Could we start now?" Butch eagerly asked.

"Not yet, we need to get those wounds and bruises patched up," the doctor replied.

They spent the rest of the day swimming and fishing in the lake in the middle of Dr. Edwards' property.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Are you sure we're going to the right place Blossom?" Buttercup asked her sister.

"Sure I'm sure. I checked the Professor's yearbook, and found out that Mr. Edwards' father was the former president of Edtech Corporation, and guess who is the current President and CEO?"

"William K. Edwards?"

"That's right Bubbles, W.K. Edwards is none other than the richest man in Citiesville and Townsville. Who would have thought that the Professor's friend is really a big shot?" Blossom asked. "After that, it was easy finding his address. I figure that if we just go to the Townsville Main Office, we could catch him at work."

"You're brilliant Blossom!" Bubbles complemented.

"Of course," Blossom replied.

"But why don't we check the Citiesville office first?" a sceptical Buttercup asked.

"Because I already phoned his address there, and since he wasn't there, where else would he have gone but Townsville? Since he hasn't got a new address yet, it's best that we go to his office instead."

Since she has been stumped in the argument, the green clad puff didn't reply.

* * *

They soon reached the Main Office of Edtech Corp.

"Could we talk to Dr. William K. Edwards, CEO and President of Edtech Corporation?" Blossom asked the clerk at the main office of the Corporation in Townsville.

"Dr. Edwards isn't here right now," the clerk, Mr. Clark, said.

"Could we then ask for his address?"

"Sorry kids. I don't know. He hasn't told anyone of his new address ever since he moved into Townsville a few days ago," Mr. Clark explained.

"Do you think he could have disappeared?" asked Bubbles.

"Heck no. He calls us everyday to check on the company. I tried to trace the call, but he used a payphone," he explained in a Southern accent.

"When will Dr. Edwards return?" asked Buttercup.

"Well he said he's gonna take care of some business before going back to work. He said that he'll start working at this office at about August, wait, just let me see my notepad." He skimmed his notes then said, "About August 6. If you go back here at August 6, I'm sure you'll see him. Until then, don't try to find him. This isn't the first time he's done this, and we even hired the FBI to look for him back then, but he was never found until he voluntarily surfaced."

"Thank you Mr. Clark," Blossom said.

Disappointed, the three flew home.

* * *

The rest of July was spent by the boys training, and having summer fun with their father. Dr. Edwards always reserved at least two hours to showing his sons his land. There, Dr. Edwards taught the boys how to hunt, to fish, to properly chop wood. He also took them for swims in the big lake in the middle of his forest. Since their land was also beside a mountain, he would take them hiking, and at one time, they even slept outside. And since the Doctor forbade them to use their powers until they were ready to meet the Powerpuff Girls, they camped and had fun just like normal kids.

Some of the days were spent in town, where Dr. Edwards taught the Rowdyruff Boys the basics of how to act in society. They learned how to buy, be outwardly polite, how to act in certain situations, and many other things. They also often ate out since the Doctor couldn't cook to save his life. He also brought them to the town park, where they played various games.

The Doctor formally adopted the three as his sons in presence of a court. Since he was the richest man in Town, he didn't have any trouble adopting them. So now, the three are know as William Bricker Edwards Jr, James Boomer Edwards, and Wilbur Butch Edwards.

Of course, the Rowdyruff Boys didn't forget to train. They trained so hard when they weren't having fun that by August 4, they had beaten level 10.

* * *

As for the Powerpuff Girls, they spent the entire month either having fun or saving Townsville. Bubbles and Buttercup forgot about Dr. Edwards, but Blossom didn't. She was counting the days till August 6.

Professor Utonium himself forgot all about the picture in the album incident and his estranged childhood friend, William K. Edwards.

But soon, an event happened that shattered their idyllic existence and tied their fates together.

* * *

It was August 6.

"Are you sure you could manage being alone boys?" asked the doctor.

"We're big boys now Dad! We can handle it," Brick said.

"Yeah Dad, don't you trust us?" Boomer asked.

"Of course son, but…oh all right. But the house better be still in one piece by the time I come back. And by the way, don't go to the lab. I repeat, don't go to the lab. If I found out that you did, there will be no training for the next month and you can't have your revenge upon the Powerpuff Girls till January," William Edwards warned in a stern, serious voice.

The boys gulped. All their previous plans went down the drain.

Soon, Dr. Edwards gave last minute instructions to the boys, and he then drove towards his office.

"Now what do we do?" asked a bored Butch.

"Let's explore the forest beyond the lake," Boomer suggested.

"Yeah," Butch shouted. "How about it O Great Leader?"

"Well, we've got nothing better to do. But remember..."

"We know, we know, no using our powers…" both said in unison.

"Good, let's pack our food and go," Brick commanded.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Come on girls, we don't want to be late for our meeting," Blossom said, trying to hurry the girls.

"Blossom, what's the matter with you? There ain't no monsters or criminals today?" Buttercup replied.

"Yeah, and the mayor hasn't called us yet," Bubbles added.

"Girls don't you remember?"

"We don't," Bubbles and Buttercup replied in unison.

"Don't you remember, almost a month ago, we went to see Dr. Edwards to try to persuade him to see the Professor, and the clerk told us that Dr. Edwards would come to work at August 6, and today is August 6, you know," Blossom explained.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about it, but, do we still have to go? I think this is useless," Buttercup complained.

"Nonsense Buttercup. We love the Professor right? Then we want him to be happy. What is one way to make him happy? Bring his long lost best friend to him, that's how, and as such, our endeavor is necessary," Blossom lectured.

"Alright," Buttercup replied. She really has nothing to say to refute Blossom, so she decided to go along. Bubbles decided to go along with Blossom and Buttercup.

* * *

"Hello Mr. Clark, I'm Blossom and I'm the same girl who asked about Dr. Edwards a month ago, and could we talk to him for a while?" Blossom asked when they returned to the Townsville office of Dr Edwards.

"Hey, you're those kids who asked about Dr. Edwards about a month ago, aren't you? Well, you're in luck since the Doctor is at his office right now. I'll call him," Mr. Clark said as he stood up and went upstairs. The Powerpuff Girls sat on a bench and waited for Mr. Clark and Mr. Edwards to return.

Dr. Edwards went into the lobby room expecting to see three little girls who wanted to see him. He never expected to see the Powerpuff Girls, so when he did, he was shocked. He stared a few moments at the girls, and his emotions began troubling him. He always knew he was indifferent, even apathetic to the girls. He did not hate the relations of those his enemies just because of their blood, and the Powerpuff Girls were no exception. But that was before he even got to personally see them.

When he did, he didn't know what emotion would take over. Was it hate? No. He was only planning their defeat as a way to help the Rowdyruff Boys get on with life. The PPG being the Professor's creations certainly was convenient, for it allowed him to one-up his rival in another way. But the primary reason was to help his boys get over their defeat. And if the defeat of the girls was what it's going to take, then he would help. Of course he would make sure that his boys would only defeat them, not kill or destroy them, not out of concern for the girls, but out of concern of what will happen to the character and reputation of his sons if they killed the Powerpuff Girls.

But now before him were the Powerpuff Girls in the flesh. When he saw them, he was initially indifferent. But events would prove that that indifference would not last long.

'Why is Dr. Edwards staring at us like that? He looks like he just saw a ghost,' Buttercup thought to herself.

"Are you Dr. William Edwards?" Bubbles asked.

"Yes, and you're the Powerpuff Girls I presume?" Dr. Edwards replied, quickly recovering his composure.

"How'd you know?" Bubbles replied.

"Well, when you're _the_ superheroes of the city, and you are on TV almost everyday, it is hard not to recognize you on sight. Besides, you're reputation precedes you."

"You don't say. You mean we're that famous?" asked a surprised Bubbles.

"Of course we're that famous, you nincompoop, we're the Powerpuff Girls!" replies a perplexed Buttercup.

Before Bubbles could reply to Buttercup's retort, Blossom spoke.

"Yeah, but not as famous as you Dr. Edwards," replied Blossom. "Your reputation also precedes you."

"Nah. I'm not that famous. I'm just an obscure CEO of an obscure company," Dr. Edwards replied.

"Well, you are that famous, since you're the richest man in Citiesville and Townsville, and my computer hardware and software is both made and designed by Edtech Corp., and you are a genius of course, for you personally designed most of the products of this Corporation," Blossom replied, flattering him in every way.

"How did you know that?"

"I have my ways."

"Anyway, your sister's right. Just don't tell anybody I'm here in Townsville. I don't want everybody, especially the press, to come flocking here in my office or in my house."

"You got it, Doctor," Bubbles replied.

"Anyway, why are you three here?"

"Well, the Pro—" Bubbles began, but was quickly cut off by Blossom.

"We want a tour of your fine company," Blossom said, interrupting his sister.

"We do?" Bubbles asked.

"But I thought we're going to mmphhh" Buttercup was going to protest but was cut off when Blossom put her hands in her sister's mouth.

"Just go along with this, I know what I'm doing," Blossom whispered.

"Mmmph," Buttercup then removed Blossom's hand from her mouth, "I hope you're right, leader girl," she whispered back.

"So when can we start?"

* * *

So they spent the entire morning touring the Edtech's factory at Townsville. Dr. Edwards acquiesced with the girls' reasonable request. Blossom asked so many questions about Edtech Corp. and he was glad to answer them. Pretty soon, despite everything, despite the fact that he hated their creator, despite the fact that he was planning the girls' defeat, he found that he liked the girls.

'Excellent.' Blossom thought. 'Not only do I get to see how this fine corporation works, but with us getting closer to Dr. Edwards, he would be more amenable to going with us. Besides, he's a pretty nice guy.'

* * *

After the tour…

"Um, Doctor, can we ask you something?" Bubbles asked.

"Well, um, you see, do you know Professor Utonium?"

William Edwards' expression quickly changed upon hearing the name of Professor Utonium, from pleasant to that which was incomprehensible to the girls. It was a mixture of hate, rage, confusion, and guilt. His face turned white. 'Damn it John Utonium, why do you have to send your girls to torture me?'

"Ah Dr. Edwards, is something wrong?" asked a concerned Buttercup.

"Huh," Dr. Edwards then quickly recovered his composure. "Of course. He is Townsville's, not to mention the state's, foremost scientist and the creator and father to you three."

"And your best friend when you were in high school!" Bubbles added.

Dr. Edwards was shocked. He just couldn't believe that his 'secret' was out. "How did…"

"We were looking at the Professor's old album, and we saw pictures of you and the Professor together," Buttercup finished.

"You're right, we were friends in high school, but we parted ways in college, and we're not anymore friends today," he said in a serious tone.

"How come?" asked Blossom.

Dr. Edwards began thinking. 'How could I tell them without tearing the image of their father to them, oh yes, I know!' "You see, since we haven't seen each other in thirty years, we just grew apart."

"How about if you see him now?" asked Bubbles.

"Sorry girls I'm busy…"

"Please…" the three girls said simultaneously, giving the doctor their best puppy dog eyes.

Dr. Edwards looked at the three girls, and he saw his will waver under the glares of the three cute girls. But he rallied his resolve and decided to refuse.

"Sorry girls, I just can't…"

Just then, a huge monster suddenly appeared and started attacking Townsville. Worst still, it was headed right for the Edtech Factory, and Dr. Edwards began thinking of how much money he had to pay to repair his factory once the monster got through with it.

"Let's go girls," Blossom said, and soon, they were off. Dr. Edwards decided to observe the fight, so that he could see how his sons would fare it they would fight now.

'Hm, they're good. That monster doesn't have a chance. But the way I see it, they wouldn't have a chance against my boys.'

The monster didn't have a chance. But suddenly, it released sharp spikes all over from its skin. The Powerpuff Girls easily dodged them, but one was heading right towards Dr. Edwards. But he was too busy with his own thoughts to notice the spike coming right at him.

Seconds before the spike would have impaled the doctor in the chest, he was grabbed by Bubbles and taken out of the way.

"Huh, what?" the absent-minded doctor said when he noticed that he was dangling in the air with Bubbles holding him the shoulder.

"You were nearly hit by that spike, Doctor," Bubbles said as she pointed to the spike that pierced the wall the doctor had been leaning against just seconds earlier.

"Thanks Bubbles," Dr. Edwards said.

"You're welcome, Doctor," Bubbles said as she put him down and joined the fight against the monster. One minute later, the monster was dead, and the girls were back talking with Dr. Edwards.

"How about it?" Buttercup asked.

"How about I take you three out to lunch for saving my life?" Dr. Edwards suggested.

"And then you'll go see the professor?" asked Blossom, then the three began to give him _the look_.

This time, his resolve crumbled. This time, he has a debt of gratitude to the girls, and since he cannot cancel the boy's revenge, this would be the least he could do. Even if it was too see his hated rival.

"Okay, okay, we'll go after eating lunch."

The girls cheered.

* * *

After treating the girls to lunch at _Dunkin_ _Donuts_, the doctor drove the three girls to their home.

"Professor, we've got a surprise for you!" Bubbles shouted.

"What is it Bubbles?" asked the Professor, who was in his lab working.

"It's a surprise," said Buttercup as she blindfolded Professor Utonium. "Come here Professor," Blossom said as he led him towards the living room.

"You can now remove your blindfold professor," Bubbles said.

John Utonium removed it, and he was shocked. His facial expression changed into dead seriousness, and he stared right at his former High School friend. "William," he simply said.

"John," William replied. "Now girls, if you could excuse us, we would like to have some grown-up talk," he pleasantly said to the girls, although it was clear it was forced.

"He's right, girls, you should all go out and play while we talk," John Utonium said, his voice also pleasant, but like that of William Edwards, was also forced.

"But…" Bubbles began to protest.

"The Professor and Doctor is right, Bubbles. Let the grown-ups have their little reunion privately," Blossom said. Soon the girls were outside the house and discussing privately among themselves.

"I don't like the looks of this," Bubbles said. "They aren't acting very friendly like towards each other."

"Don't worry. They're just shocked to see each other after a long time. You'll see. They'll be hugging each other and begin talking about old times," Blossom reassured her sister.

"I hope you're right, Blossom, I hope you're right," Buttercup said.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"I see that you decided to show your face again," John Utonium began.

"Cut the crap, John. The only reason I came to see you is as a favor to the Powerpuff Girls, and certainly not to see a disgusting creature like you," William replied.

"You're the one to talk, William. You're the one who ruined my project and you still have the guts to say something like that. Honestly, I never thought of you as dishonest, but there's a first time for everything," John said.

"Don't give me that John. What you're working on at that time was too dangerous to complete. Imagine if it had fallen to the wrong hands. And you even didn't tell me until it was nearly completed."

"I meant it as a surprise, William. But when I told you you had to destroy it, just as it was near completion. You know what you did William? Ha, did you know what you did? You've destroyed mankind's hope! You've destroyed mankind's hope for happiness!" Utonium yelled.

"What you've invented would make man into a monster!" William responded just as passionately. "Yes, I had to stop you, even if you're my friend. I even burned the notes so you can never replicate it again. But what I hated about you is the way you destroyed me after that. You stole my idea of Chemical X, and took credit for yourself. And when I decided to take what is due to me, you made it look that I was the one who is trying to steal your idea."

"Don't try to sound so moralistic about that," John replied. "What you created is just as dangerous for man as what you claimed mine was. So I decided to take action. But instead of destroying your project, like you did mine, I mere decided to take and make it out as my idea so you wouldn't publish it. I merely announced it to the world and kept it."

"Oh so you've kept it to keep it away from the world," William replied, him barely containing his anger. "Then how the hell could so many people have this chemical X? Admit it, you profited from stealing my chemical X, and you stole it because you wanted revenge on me destroying your earlier project!"

"Yes I admit it, William, I stole your idea as revenge for you destroying my earlier project, but you started it. I didn't destroy you, you know, you destroyed yourself," John replied.

"Damn it John, don't you know because of that incident, I failed college and because of that, my father disowned me while my mother died heartbroken thinking her son is an intellectual thief while you went on to graduate at the top of your class the very next year? It took me ten years to finish college because almost no school would admit me. Luckily I was able to find one that would and I was able to slowly rebuilt my reputation. And me and my father where reconciled only five years ago, one year before he died. I wanted revenge, John, on you!"

"But that is the past Utonium," William continued. "I shortly inherited Edtech Corp. and as you know, built it into the largest technology company in the country. Thus I became the richest man in Townsville and Citiesville and because of my inventions, I became as renowned a scientist as you ever were. It seems to me that fate has been making up for my long years in the wilderness, wouldn't you think so? And now I am more successful in life than you, John. In a way, that partially mollified my desire for revenge."

"That is when I realized that you're not worth my contempt, my hatred and my vengeance," William continued. By this time, John, although very angry and full of hate, tried to keep his temper in check. He wanted to hear what his enemy was saying. "You are not even worth my saliva to spit to your face. No, you are worse than the worst scum that ever traversed this earth. I would not even try to dignify your position by even attempting revenge. No, such a course, John, would soil my sense of decency and elevate you to a position you don't deserve. Yes, you should wallow for the rest of your life in the lie that you perpetuated, that you discovered or created Chemical X, knowing as a fact that you based your entire reputation on that lie. But that doesn't mean I don't hate you. Yes, even though you're not worth my hate, I still hate you. You've done too much too not merit my hate!"

"You should talk," John Utonium replied bitterly. "What you have said happened to you is all your fault. You don't know a good discovery when you see one. You had to destroy my original project, so I destroyed yours, only I did it by stealing it. So we're even. Ha, you can recreate my original project and take credit for it, and I wouldn't even bother exposing you. Ha, what happened to you is just the result of you trying to prevent my revenge from being effected. So leave, William, leave. Don't ever come back to this house, for I don't want to see your face ever. I hate you."

"Believe me John, the feeling is mutual. The feeling is mutual," William said. "By the way, the only thing good you did is to create those girls," and with that, the doctor turned around and left the house.

* * *

It was August 7

"Butch, Boomer, hurry!" Dr. Edwards shouted at the boys, who were frantically preparing their things for their planned excursion to the city. They agreed to celebrate outside because they had completed all ten levels. They planned their first fight with the Powerpuff Girls on August 10. Brick is already ready and standing at his father's foot, wearing a superior smirk in his face.

"Let's go, we wouldn't want to get there before noon. It would be so hot and crowded," the doctor said as he entered the car and started the engine. Two seconds later, Brick was in the front seat beside the doctor while Butch and Boomer where on the back seat.

They soon arrived at Townsville City, and found a place to park. After that, they slowly walked on the side of the street, besides extremely tall skyscrapers, on their way to the park.

* * *

The Powerpuff Girls were mildly disappointed. Things hadn't gone the way they had planned, but enough had happened to give them hope. The Professor explained to them that Dr. Edwards left early because he had important work to do after talking to him for only a few minutes. They had expected the Doctor to stay through dinner. They even expected the Professor to even invite him to stay over. Besides, the girls liked the doctor's company. Also noticeable was the Professor's extremely bad mood.

'Maybe it was because Dr. Edwards left early,' Blossom thought. 'I better invite him again to our home when he isn't so busy.'

They were in the house, with Blossom reading some books, Buttercup drawing pictures of mangled limbs of monsters, and Bubbles playing doctor to Octi, when suddenly, the hotline rang.

"Yes Mayor," Blossom began. "A monster attacking Townsville! Okay Mayor, we're on it!"

Soon the three girls were flying to Townsville.

* * *

The monster was a flying creature with iron like wings and very light body. It had numerous spikes on its body and was very strong. But it has a deadly weakness. It has no defense on its underbelly, or under its wings.

"Okay girls, let's take him down!" Blossom said. "Buttercup. Go and attack it on its underbelly. Bubbles and I will go to the wings."

Buttercup headed towards the body without replying. Blossom and Bubbles were able to grab each wing despite sustaining several bruises and scratches in attempting the grab. Before Buttercup made contact with the body, it fell to the ground because it has lost the use of its wings when Blossom and Bubbles grabbed it. Soon, Buttercup was diving towards the underbelly while Blossom and Bubbles laser-eyed it to soften it for the green puff.

Buttercup crashed through the body, instantly killing the monster. The girls then finished its body by using their laser eyes. It exploded, with most parts flying off harmlessly towards the forest and ocean. Unfortunately, two parts flew towards the city.

"Oh no!" Blossom said upon seeing the flying pieces. "After it girls!"

* * *

Brick, Boomer, Butch and William Edwards were walking at the sidewalk besides some tall skyscrapers. Suddenly, two objects collided with the building they were adjacent to. Luckily, the building was earlier evacuated, so no one in the building got hurt. But the impact caused the building to split into three, with the top a small piece, the middle the largest one, both falling towards the four, while the third, the base, remained standing.

"Watch out!" Brick shouted. "Butch, take care of the small one, Boomer and I will take care of the middle one!"

Butch then flew and caught the flying top. He then threw it as hard as he could in the direction of the ocean. Boomer and Brick caught the middle part, seconds before it hit Dr. Edwards.

* * *

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup saw the building collapse.

"Oh no!" Bubbles shouted.

Soon however, they saw a fast projectile moving towards them. It was so fast that they haven't had time to avoid it, and they collided with it. It hit the three girls head on. Luckily, it was only the small top so that aside from the fact that they were disoriented, got extremely annoyed and teed off, and got extra bruises, they were fine.

"Look, it's the Rowdyruff Boys who threw that thing at us," Buttercup said.

Blossom looked and saw the boys with their backs on them, with Brick and Boomer carrying a large part of the demolished building and looking over at Dr. Edwards.

"Oh no, they're attacking Dr. Edwards," Bubbles said, panicking, completely misinterpreting the situation.

"Yeah, they probably shot that top of the building to take us out," Blossom replied. "Well, let's teach them a lesson they won't forget."

And with that they charged at the Rowdyruff boys, who were still unaware of the girls' presence.

And the long awaited fight began.


	4. The First Clash

**Allies and Rivals**

**Author thanks:**Thanks to DL23400, Hairy Gregory, and Uncle Sam for the reviews.

**To****DL23400:**Chemical X was not caused or created by Mojo. Jojo the monkey's naughtiness caused the Professor to accidentally mix the chemical X to the mixture of sugar, spice and everything nice. Professor had already Chemical X, but he didn't intend to mix it to create the perfect little girls. The accident is to mix it with the Powerpuff Girls, simultaneously creating Mojo Jojo from Jojo the monkey.

Now, Professor Utonium already had Chemical X before he ever intended to create the girls. It was probably lying in some shelf somewhere all this years or he just recently created it. The show didn't explain how he got it, so I took the liberty of explaining how. But he didn't _intend_ in the first place to _use it_ to create the perfect little girls. He probably didn't know the effects of Chemical X, so why should he risk mutilating his girls by mixing it with an unknown chemical? It was the Professor's carelessness in placing Chemical X above the formula and Mojo's clumsiness that caused the mixing of sugar, spice and everything nice with Chemical X.

So it was not _Chemical X_ that was accidentally caused by Jojo the lab monkey, rather it was the _accidental mixing of Chemical X and sugar, spice and everything nice_ that was caused by Mojo Jojo.

I hope this clears all questions.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**The First Clash**

The City of Townsville, and the fight between the two products of Chemical X was about to begin.

The first fight between the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys after the Boys were accidentally brought back by Dr. Edwards were full of ironies. The Rowdyruff Boys planned the attack on the girls, yet when the fight actually began, the first shot or hit was fired by one of the Powerpuff Girls. It was the boys who were initially surprised by the attack.

In other words, neither of the combatants planned the attack that day and place.

* * *

The Girls charged at the Rowdyruff boys, who at the moment had their back turned towards the girls.

'Look, they're so arrogant that they didn't even bother to check whether or not we recovered from the hit,' Blossom thought as they approached.

Soon, Buttercup with all her force slammed into Butch's back, causing him to fall. If it wasn't for the fact that he has super strength, she would have broken his back. "Take that you jerk!" she shouted.

Bubbles quickly took the middle part of the building away from Boomer and Brick and tossed it as far as she could towards the ocean.

"Huh, what?" Brick said, confused by all that was happening. Before he could further react, he was punched hard in the gut, causing him to bend over. His assailant, Blossom, then hit him near the base of his neck, sending him crashing to the ground.

"What the heck is going on here?" Boomer wondered as he witnessed both of his brother's pounding. Seconds later, it was his turn as Bubbles, who just threw the building away, punched him in the face, blacking one of his eyes and nearly putting him out of commission. She then took him by his feet and she spun Boomer around, releasing him as he accelerated to the ground. Seconds later, he joined his brothers as his silhouette was etched on the asphalt road.

"So you're back," Blossom said. "Don't worry, we won't have to kiss you to finish you off. We've grown much stronger since the last fight we had. We'll beat you till you cry uncle, and we'll destroy you."

"Ha, you wish," Brick said as he angrily emerged from the rubble. "Butch, Boomer, use stance HB," he shouted.

"What? Are you crazy or something Brick? They're those Powerpuff sissies!" Butch protested.

"I know, but just do it. You'll see," Brick confidently replied. "We'll give you a surprise that will cause you to come crying back to your mother," he said to the girls, and with that the three launched an attack on them.

"So, you boys want to play, ha?" Buttercup commented, eagerly awaiting the fight.

Brick Edwards charged at Blossom from below. However, his charge was too slow, and Blossom merely sidestepped to the left. She then grabbed his foot, and spun Brick around. After spinning him a few times, she punched him a few times in the gut. She then tossed him high in the air.

At the very same second, Butch charged in a similarly blind fashion towards Buttercup. She avoided the charge and punched him in the jaw, sending him high in the sky. Soon, Brick and Butch collided in the air. But Brick and Butch were still standing and flying. Straightening themselves up, brushing off the dirt from the ground, wiping out the blood from their lips, they looked defiantly at the girls.

"Is that the best you can do?" Bricked mocked.

"I heard you're the best! Well if that's the case, then the superheroes of Townsville is as weak as that Major Man," Butch taunted.

"You're the one to talk," Buttercup retorted. "It's your butt that's being kicked right now. You should be on your knees begging for mercy."

"Ha, sissies like you shouldn't even be here fighting. When we're through with you, you'll be worrying a lot more than just your broken nails!" Bricked teased.

"Oh really? Buttercup, these boys are asking for a major beating. Let's give it to them," Blossom said right after she charged the boys.

* * *

"Hey, are you finished with your speech there, Brick, because I like to kick some butt!" Boomer shouted from the asphalt ground. He was about to join his brothers when he was blocked by Bubbles.

"You're not going anywhere without going through me first," Bubbles sternly said.

"Oh look if it isn't the crybaby," Boomer taunted. "Well I've got bad news for you, sissy, I'm a lot tougher than you so get ready to meet your maker!"

"Oh yeah!" she shouted, inadvertently causing her to use her sonic boom. Boomer covered his ears, but the vibrations caused him to be pushed back.

"Take that, you meanie," Bubbles said as she raced towards Boomer. She punched him in the cheek, "and this," punching him at the other cheek, "and this," at the gut, "and this," at the back, "and this is for making me kiss you the last time," Bubbles spun him around, tossed him around, and laser-eyed him in the air.

* * *

Brick and Blossom were fighting hand to hand. All of Blossom's punches went through, while none of Brick's hits registered. He soon flew just a few inches away from Blossom and laser-eyed her but Blossom dodged to the left avoiding it just in time. Blossom then laser-eyed Brick which hit him dead on, after which she used ice breath to freeze Brick. She then started punching him while he was in freeze state, then she laser-eyed Brick again. The laser-eye melted the frozen Brick, but it didn't help the red ruff a bit. Blossom resumed her assault, punching him in the gut, chest, face, back repeatedly. Brick was not able to make even one punch at Blossom. Yet, a smirk could be found in his face.

In the meantime, Butch was getting his body badly beaten by Buttercup. She kicked him in the face that sent him flying backwards. Butch came back and tried to laser-eye Buttercup, but he could not see her. Instead, she grabbed him from behind.

"Let go me!" Butch shouted.

"Well, let me think? I think I like holding on to you like this," she teased as she tightened her grip on Butch. She then laser-eyed the back of Butch's head. He shouted at the top of his voice, and an explosion happened.

The explosion caused Buttercup to release Butch. Soon, there was nothing but thick smoke.

"One down, two to go," Buttercup said in triumph. "Hey, you two, I've destroyed the green boy."

"Well, don't be too sure," Brick shouted.

"Well, the only thing you could be sure of is your destruction," Blossom retorted, as she kneed him into the gut.

"Well, aren't we a little boastful," a voice from the smoke suddenly said. "You should make sure I'm really dead before you celebrate."

Buttercup quickly turned to where she thought she had destroyed Butch. The smoke slowly rose, and it revealed Butch in fighting position, with face slightly covered in soot, but otherwise in fine condition. He was wearing a large smirk on his face.

"Well, at least you're quiet," Butch said at the gaping Buttercup, who couldn't believe her eyes.

"Hey Brick, could we change our fighting stand now?" Butch shouted to Brick. "Getting the snot beaten out of me is not my idea of fun."

"That's stance, Butch. Fighting stance. Anyway, trust me, just a little longer. Then they'll see the stuff we're made of."

"This sucks!" Butch complained, but nevertheless did not change his fighting stance.

* * *

In the meantime, Boomer was standing in the air after being laser-eyed by Bubbles. "It's that all you can do, sissie?" challenged Boomer.

"As a matter of fact, no!" Bubbles shouted as she slammed her head to Boomer's tummy. She then punched Boomer to the left and to the right cheek, then finished with a kick to the head that ended up with Boomer falling rapidly to the ground. Bubbles then followed up her attack with another laser-eye attack on Boomer.

'That ought to take him out for hours,' Bubbles thought as she looked in the hole in the road where Boomer had crashed and Bubbles had laser-eyed him.

Seconds later, however, Boomer quickly rose to the sky.

"Not bad, Bubbles, not bad," Boomer commented. "Now it's my turn."

'How could that be?' Bubbles thought. 'I gave everything I got and still he won't stay down. He's so tough.' She found herself blushing at the thought.

Boomer attacked, but his attack was so clumsily done that Bubbles dodged every one of them. "Stay still," complained the blue Rowdyruff.

"Well if you say please," Bubbles teased. She then landed a powerful punch of her own to his gut. "Well, that's what you get for not being polite to ladies like me!" She then laser-eyed Boomer again.

* * *

Brick got better at dodging Blossom, but still, none of his attacks got through to her. He made, like Boomer, an attack so clumsy that Blossom did not even exert any effort in avoiding those attacks.

Brick made one last lunge at Blossom. Blossom laser-eyed Brick before he even got close. Blossom then punched him in the gut again, then kicked his side. She then grabbed his foot and spun him around before throwing him to the ground. 'That should leave him out cold. They probably were surprised that we're very much stronger than the last fight. Serves him right.'

But Brick was still not out, for he slowly floated towards his red counterpart, smirking, never taking out his eyes from his red adversary. His straightened out his cap, and wiped out the blood from his lip.

"This can't be…how could you survive? You should have been unconscious by now or wallowing in the rubble! How could you have gotten so strong?" Blossom said, stammering.

"Rule number one, Blossom, is that you must always assume your enemy to be in the strongest state that is factually possible. Never assume him to be weak, for if you're wrong, then your victory will go up in smoke."

"Okay, so we underestimated your tenacity! It doesn't matter, since it's only a matter of time until your body would give out since we can beat you all we want, and you couldn't even land a punch on us," Blossom taunted.

"Enjoy your momentary triumph, my dear Blossom, for we will prevail, and thrash you in the process," Brick replied.

"Ha, you're the one to talk. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, my dear Brick," Blossom contemptuously said.

"Maybe we will," Brick replied, accepting the challenge. "Maybe we will. Butch, Boomer change fighting stance from HB to SGAF right now," he shouted to his brothers.

* * *

Buttercup and Bubbles were still beating Butch and Boomer. When they heard their brother's order, Boomer and Butch breathe a sigh of relief. Buttercup and Bubbles drew back to see what their new stance would be. They were not concerned about the consequences, since, if the fight were any indication, any change in fighting stance would make no difference.

"It's about time," Butch grumbled. "Why not the Double A stance instead."

"Well, SGAF is better than HB. At least we won't let ourselves be beaten this time," Boomer replied.

"You always have a way of taking things at the bright side, don't you," Butch replied.

"Well that's what makes Boomer, Boomer," his blond brother cheerfully said.

"Are you going to fight or are you planning to yap all day. We don't have all day you know," Buttercup shouted, bored.

"Yeah, are you going to do this scarf thing or what?" Bubbles said.

"It's SGAF, Bubbles, SGAF," Boomer corrected.

"Whatever," Bubbles said.

Boomer and Butch lunged at Bubbles and Buttercup. Butch quickly was able to hit Buttercup in the stomach, followed by a kick in the side of the head. Buttercup was disoriented at Butch's sudden show of speed, strength and skill that she wasn't able to counterattack immediately. Butch followed his attack by laser-eyeing Buttercup.

"Oh you're asking for it!" Buttercup said, with a deep scowl decorating her face. "You were just toying with us a while ago!" She then charged at Butch like there was no tomorrow. Butch sidestepped but at the last moment, Buttercup changed her direction to the left smashing into Butch. Butch was surprised but he quickly recovered, balled his fists together and hit her into the back, sending Buttercup down. The green puff was able to grab her counterpart's feet, which sent him crashing down along with Buttercup. When they were near the ground, Buttercup swung Butch causing him to crash to the ground. Buttercup intended Butch to break her fall, but Butch at the last minute, kicked Buttercup as she neared the ground sending her high in the air. Butch then followed up the attack by laser-eyeing her in the air.

Buttercup was now definitely angry. She flew straight at Butch and struck him at the cheek. In doing so, she left her tummy undefended, which Butch took advantage of with a right punch. Buttercup, although in pain, then slammed her head into Butch's back, causing him to fall. He flipped however, causing him to land on his back instead of on his stomach, and as he did, he kicked Buttercup again, causing her to back away.

"Had enough?" Butch asked as he stood up.

"With your kind of power? All you'd be is my personal punching bag, and a pathetic one at that!" Buttercup replied.

"Well you'll see that some punching bags fight back!" Butch said as he lunged at Buttercup. This time, he was so fast that Buttercup wasn't able to dodge in time. Buttercup was punched hard in the stomach, again. Butch then followed up with a laser eye attack.

"A punching bag, huh? And a power such as mine?" he scorned, then laughed so hard he fell to the ground.

"Stop laughing!" Buttercup angrily said. She then laser-eyed Butch, who was still on the ground, laughing. She then started kicking him on the ground. Butch was too busy laughing to resist at first, and Buttercup gave him no chance to fight back. After a couple of dozen kicks to his side, she tossed him in the air, grabbed a nearby empty car and tossed it at Butch with all her might. It collided with Butch, causing the car to explode.

"Yup, you're just a pathetic punching bag," said Buttercup smirking.

Butch however, emerged from the explosion, still smirking. He then launched a powerful attack on Buttercup. He successively gave Buttercup a left, a right, an uppercut, a left kick on the side, a right kick on the side, two kicks in the head, and capped it with a laser eye attack. He then tossed Buttercup high in the air and tossed a large piece of rubble at Buttercup. Buttercup was hit head on.

Buttercup emerged angrier than ever. However, instead of fighting, both Buttercup and Butch just stared at each other for the next few minutes.

* * *

In the meantime…

Boomer and Bubbles were staring at each other, both wearing large smiles on their faces.

"Why are you smiling?" Bubbles asked Boomer.

"Well, I'm thinking that we're finally going to win," Boomer said.

"Well, the fight's not over yet," she said in a sweet tone.

"You're right. But it soon will," Boomer assured her.

"Boomer?"

"Uh yes?" Boomer said, surprised that Bubbles had not lunged at him yet.

"Could we end this fight without one of us beating the other up?" asked Bubbles.

"Well, it could if you surrender right away, get on your knees and plead for mercy, we could," Boomer jokingly said.

"Really?" Bubbles said excited. Before and Boomer could react, Bubbles took Boomer's hand, and led him to the ground. There, Bubbles suddenly got on her knees in front of a surprised Boomer.

"I surrender," Bubbles said, "have mercy on me and my sister and don't hurt us." It was a superb performance, complete with tears and pleading eyes. Suddenly, Bubbles stood up.

"There, I've done it. Now can we stop fighting?"

To say Boomer was astounded would be an understatement. "I was only joking. This fight could never end unless one of us is defeated," Boomer said in a serious tone.

"Why? Can't we be friends?"

"Because I have to. My soul can never rest until me and my brothers got our revenge and our pride back as a family. You couldn't possibly understand, Bubbles. The Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls can never be friends!" Boomer replied. "So defend yourself, for once I start, I wouldn't stop."

"Revenge? For what?" Bubbles asked.

"Don't act dumb. You'll pay for kissing me!" Boomer said with a seriousness that would remove any idea that it is a joke.

"Oh that. I thought it was destroying you," Bubbles said, first quietly giggling, then laughing very hard. "I thought you like it."

Boomer blushed, then protested. "That kiss destroyed us you sissy! No I do not like the kiss! Besides, you're a girl, and girls have cooties!"

"Girls do not have cooties!" Bubbles shouted, her laughter stopping. "It's only boys that have them!"

"Yes they do and no we don't. Anyway, prepare for your defeat, for Boomer will crush you," he said in a childish way, pointing his finger at Bubbels.

"Well, if that's the way it has to be, then I'll fight," Bubbles said. Then to the surprise of Boomer, Bubbles made the first move.

Bubbles lunged at Boomer and punched Boomer at the left cheek. She followed it up with a kick to his head. Boomer was hit but quickly recovered and kicked Bubbles in the stomach. He then laser-eyed Bubbles and then tossed her in the air. He followed her then hurled her to the ground again. Boomer was about to slam into Bubbles but she laser-eyed Boomer. Bubbles then got up and rammed her head on Boomer's stomach. Boomer was thrown high up in the air, but he stopped his ascent and stared at his adversary, waiting for Bubbles to attack.

Bubbles stood up from the asphalt and stared back at Boomer. She too was preparing for his assault.

"So, you were just playing possum," Bubbles accused.

"Well, I didn't say I wasn't!" Boomer defended himself. "Besides, everything is fair in love and war, and this is war!"

"I guess you're right," Bubbles said, more to herself than to Boomer.

"Well, defend yourself," he said as he began using Bubbles as target practice for his laser-eyes. "Wow, this is almost as fun as video games! Just like Mario Brothers!"

Bubbles was at the ground, dodging Boomer's blast. It was too quick for her to do anything than dodge Boomer's attacks. 'Oh no, he's too fast that I can't think of anything,' she thought.

'Anytime now, she'll tire and I'll show Butch I can be tough too,' Boomer thought to himself as he attempted to try to hit Bubbles. 'I'll show her for destroying us and kissing me.' He cringed at the thought. Every time he remembers it, he would be disgusted and contemptuous of himself for letting himself be kissed. 'And the nerve of that Bubbles! Suggesting that I liked that kiss! Ew! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!' At that thought, he intensified his laser eye assault.

'Oh, I can't take it!' Bubbles thought as she realized the increasing difficulty in which she continued her dodging. 'What to do? What to do? What to do!' she worriedly said. 'I can't attack him, because if I do, I might be hit, but if I don't, sooner or later I'll get hit! What to do? What to do? I can't take it anymore.'

Just as Bubbles was about to give up, he remembered the Professor's words. 'You can do anything if you put your mind into it, Bubbles, no matter how hard or impossible it seems.'

That memory gave Bubbles renewed hope and strength. "Yes I can!" she shouted. She then flew at Boomer, nimbly dodging the blasts, in a speed that amazed her adversary.

'How did she get so fast.' Boomer thought. 'A second earlier, she could barely avoid my blasts. Now she's avoiding it like it was nothing. How…' his thoughts were interrupted when Bubbles' fist suddenly smashed his jaw.

Bubbles by pure adrenaline had managed to fly up to Boomer at the same time avoiding all the laser eye hits from him.

"Take that you meanie!" Bubbles said as she gave Boomer a hit on the head.

Bubbles then lost herself into a flurry of punches, kicks and laser eye attacks. However, not all of them hit their mark. Boomer by skill and luck was able to dodge half of them, but the half that struck still hurt. As a result, he wasn't for a time able to retaliate, and for a full minute, was the receiving end of Bubbles furious assault.

Boomer then backed away as soon as he can, then struck Bubbles very hard. Bubbles was thrown back and did not stop until she hit Blossom…

* * *

In the meantime…

Blossom and Brick were staring at each other.

"Brick, I thought you were smarter than that. Changing tactics and fighting stances are useless if one side has an overwhelming preponderance in power, strength, and skill," Blossom patronizingly said at her opponent.

"True, Blossom, true," Brick replied. "But remember, forces which have inferior strength and power had won against far stronger enemies through superior tactics and strategy. Besides, who said that you have such overwhelming preponderance in strength and power? The way I see it, if there is someone who has superior strength and power as to make tactics and stances of the enemy useless, it is we. So prepare to be defeated."

"Don't count on it," Blossom replied. "You will join the long list of villains that have attempted and failed to defeat us. You will just be a footnote in Townsville History."

"You know Blossom, I've always wondered if I'm going to meet someone more arrogant than me. I guess I've just met her," said Brick before he launched his attack.

Blossom expected the attack to be as clumsy as before, so she was definitely surprised that he was able to hit her. Brick, with a speed and finesse that surprised her, was able to elbow her cheek, and then kick her in the jaw, causing her to spin. Brick then clamped his fist together, and then hit her from the top causing her to stop spinning and to fall rapidly into the ground.

Blossom however was able to recover and managed to land on her feet instead of her back or her head. She went up to where Brick was and punched him in the gut. She followed it up by grabbing his hand and tossing him higher in the air. She then made a large block of ice using her ice breath and threw it at Brick.

Brick saw the block of ice just in time. He stopped his ascent, and used laser eyes to melt the block of ice.

"So, you want to play with ice, huh?" Brick sneered.

He then zigzagged his way towards Blossom. Blossom was confused at where he was really going, and was surprised when Brick suddenly punched her in the stomach with his left fist. He followed it up with a right on her face. He then laser-eyed Blossom. The hits were so fast that Blossom was not able to mount an effective defense.

Blossom was still disconcerted from the laser attack when she suddenly felt Brick grab her from behind. He wrapped his arms under her shoulder so that her arms were dangling in the sides. He finished it by wrapping his legs around her waist.

"Gotcha!" Brick said triumphantly.

"Let go of me!" Blossom responded. She tried to wiggle her way out, but his grip on her was too tight and too secure for it to be effective.

"Not a chance, unless you surrender!"

"Never!" Blossom defiantly said. She then began slamming her back, and Brick with it, to the ground. Brick was repeatedly slammed to the asphalt road, but he never wavered and only caused him to tightened his grip.

Blossom soon found out that she had lost considerable freedom of movement. Her arms were useless because they couldn't reach Brick at her back. Her feet was equally useless, since Brick was out of range from her kicks. She could only move her body from place to place, and even at that, it was extremely difficult. At such a situation, her powers are useless.

For the next few minutes, they remained like that. Brick grip tightened, and Blossom's attempts to get free were futile. She occasionally was able to slam him to the ground, but considering that Brick was a Rowdyruff, it didn't loosen his grip.

"How did you get so strong?" asked Blossom, temporarily giving up her attempts to get free. "A few minutes ago we were beating you silly and now, you are matching us blow for blow!"

"You're the leader and the smart one, aren't you? The answer is too simple and I wouldn't want to insult your intelligence by answering you, would I?" Brick said in a mocking tone.

"Hey, you're just pretending to be weak?" Blossom said.

"And Blossom here answered the $64,000 question!" Brick said. "Seriously though, you're not that smart! After all, it took you too long to answer what was so obvious!"

"Get off me!"

"Not until I'm done with you!" Brick replied.

"What do you mean?" asked Blossom. "And why are you three fighting us?"

"Isn't it clear? We're evil!" Brick replied.

"Don't give me that! I know you're evil, but what is the _real_ reason?"

"Not so smart now, huh? Well, revenge!" Brick said.

"For what? Oh yes, I remember when we kicked your butt the last time!" Blossom said as she slammed her back with Brick as a cushion against the asphalt road. It was unsuccessful in prying off Brick.

"Oh really? I remember we left you unconscious in the road, so you had to cheat to win," Brick bitterly said, unconsciously further tightening his grip. "Now, take this!"

He then blew at Blossom's hair, which is adjacent to his mouth.

"What are you doing to my hair?" Blossom said, annoyed. She then began to feel a slight chill in her hair and the back of her neck, then it became ice cold.

"You've got ice breath!" Blossom said as she realized what Brick was doing.

But Brick can't talk because he's too busy freezing Blossom. Seconds later, Blossom was in a frozen block of ice.

At the last moment, Brick let go, letting the iced Blossom to fall. The ice cracked on impact, but Blossom, though shivering because of the cold, was basically fine. She was a Powerpuff after all and survived far worse things. Still, it teed her off.

"You're going to pay for that!" Blossom said, very angry.

She then flew at Brick at an incredible speed and slammed her fist so hard that Brick was thrown further up the sky. She then followed him and laser eyed Brick. Soon, Brick was smoking, but Blossom was not satisfied. She made another large block of ice and threw it at Brick. Brick was hit dead on, instantly smashing the block of ice into a million pieces. Brick began to fall as a result. Blossom went to a place where she expected Brick to fall, but Brick recovered just in time.

Brick saw Blossom waiting for him. He decided to let himself fall down. Closing his eyes, he opened it at the last moment and laser-eyed Blossom. He then landed on his feet and gave Blossom a right on the cheek, then a left on her jaw. He then kicked her in the leg, causing her to fall on her stomach. He then began kicking her while she was down.

However, Blossom rolled and got out of the way. She got up to her feet, and charged like a ranging bull at Rowdyruff leader. Brick, however, merely side-stepped and tripped Blossom. Soon, Blossom was rolling in the ground as a result. Brick laughed at her.

Soon, Blossom was able to stand, and Brick stopped laughing. They then stared at each other, slowly rising in the air as they did. When they were high enough in the air, Bubbles slammed into Blossom.

"Watch it, I'm fighting you know," Blossom said Bubbles.

"Sorry Blossom," she said as Boomer pursued her. Bubbles then waited for Boomer, and when he arrived, she grabbed his hand, and threw him towards Brick.

Brick was able to avoid Boomer. He sidestepped to avoid his brother, grabbed his hand and slowly steadied him.

"Wait Boomer, not yet," Brick ordered.

"What do you mean?" asked a Boomer eager to fight Bubbles.

"Let's get out of here. Let's go to the forest to finish the fight!" Brick said.

"But it would look like we're running away!" Boomer protested.

"I don't care!" Brick said. "Besides, at this rate, one of Dad's properties would be destroyed, and I don't want to go and say that one of his factories or stores are gone!"

"Well, if you put it that way, let's go!" Boomer said, obviously afraid of his father if something happened to one of his properties.

"Butch, follow us!" Brick shouted.

"What? Are you crazy? We haven't even beaten them yet!" Butch, who was still on a staring contest with Buttercup, shouted back.

"Just do it!" ordered Brick. "I'll explain on the way. Or do you want to face all three by yourself, alone? Or do you want to explain to Dad why you accidentally destroyed his property because you won't follow us?"

"Fine!" Butch said.

"Okay," and soon, Boomer and Brick flew at top speed towards the forest, with Butch following close behind.

"Ha, run you cowards!" Buttercup shouted at their retreating forms, thinking that they had won.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Bubbles shouted, obviously relishing their 'win'.

"You're just a bunch of fraidy cats. Sissies! Losers!" Buttercup shouted. "Come, let's chase them and finish them off!"

"Wait a minute you guys!" Blossom said.

"What is it, leader girl?" Buttercup said. "Afraid those boys will make you cry?"

"No." Blossom said. "I just think we should leave it at that. They did give us a pretty hard time you know. We should go back home and make ourselves stronger."

"Wrong answer Blossom!" Buttercup replied. "Why did they run away? Because they knew they were beat! They'll just call us chickens if we don't chase them. So come on." Buttercup then flew to pursue the retreating Rowdyruffs.

"Bubbles?" asked Blossom.

"Sorry Blossom, I think Buttercup's right," she said as she followed Buttercup.

"Buttercup, I hope you're right," Blossom said to herself, and flew to follow her sisters.

* * *

On the ground, Dr. Edwards observed every aspect of the fight. He happened to bring a camcorder and was able to record most of it. He at first was worried that his boys would be defeated, but his confidence in his boys grew at every moment. He had only one gripe. 'Why are they toying with them? Why don't they finish the fight so we can all go home? Where are they going? I better follow them.' He quickly went to his car and drove to the direction where his boys flew.

* * *

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Butch.

Brick explained his reasons for retreating into the forest. "If they're smart, they'll cut their losses and proclaim a victory and train harder. But their pride will lead them to chase us, and when they do, we'll give them a welcome they won't forget!"

And a minute later, Buttercup, then Bubbles and finally Blossom arrived above the middle of the forest.

"Thought you could get away from us, huh?" Buttercup said.

"You should know that no evildoer is able to escape from us!" Blossom replied.

"We'll put an end to your evil!" Bubbles said.

"Oh really?" Brick said. "Men, it's time to end this fight. Change stance to Double A!"

"Yeah! Those girls will eat grass after we're done with them!"

"Now you're talking!" Butch said, barely hiding his excitement.

"Big deal! Changing stances won't save you!" Buttercup said.

"We'll see! We'll see!" Brick said. "Attack!"

The Rowdyruff Boys attacked.

Buttercup confidently awaited the attack, expecting it to be like the last one. Butch quickly punched Buttercup in the stomach so hard that it made Buttercup keel over.

'When did Butch's punch get so strong?' Buttercup wondered.

Butch kicked Buttercup in the side of the head, and the force of the kick caused her to crash into the ground causing a crater twelve feet deep. Butch followed up his attack by following Buttercup and punching her relentlessly in the face and body. After a full minute, he backed away and laser-eyed Buttercup.

Buttercup struggled to stand up. "How did you get so strong?" Butch's punches, unlike before, did serious damage. Her body was aching, she had a black eye and had a lip cut. She was also smoking due to the laser attack and her knees were shaking. And unlike before, she couldn't just brush these off, as these were very serious. Before, the pain was small and disappeared after a few seconds. Now, it was agonizing and constant. Nevertheless, she still stood defiant.

Summoning the rest of her strength in a supreme example of unbroken will, she charged Butch. She started to punch, but none hit its target. Buttercup first tried a right at his cheek, but at the last second, his head veered to the left. She tried a left, but just as it seems her fists would make contact, it would disappear and appear quickly on the right as if by magic. Buttercup then began to punch faster, but Butch became even faster, and not one of her punches got through.

"And they say you're the toughest!" Butch mocked. "You can't even land a decent punch, heck, you couldn't even land any punch at all! A 100 year old grandmother would have landed a tougher punch than yours!"

"Shut up!" was all Buttercup could say. She couldn't stand being mocked on the 'toughest' issue, but she couldn't' do anything other than try harder. She tried to hit Butch, but all her efforts were futile. Soon, she exhausted herself.

"Now it's time to end this!" he said. He made a devastating counterattack, hitting her everywhere with the greatest force. Buttercup's last reserves of strength gave way, and soon, she could barely stand. Her body was full of aching.

She gathered what as the last of her strength, and made one last desperate attack. It utterly failed, and Butch struck her at the back of the head. Buttercup mercifully drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Boomer suddenly appeared in front of Bubbles.

"Boo!" Boomer said.

Bubbles screamed of fright. "How'd you get there so fast?"

"Well, what can I say? I'm just faster than you," he said. After that he began his assault.

Boomer first kneed Bubbles on her stomach, and she keeled over. Boomer then clamped his fist together, and punched Bubbles back with it, causing her to fall to the ground. Boomer however raced her to the ground, and was able to reach it before Bubbles hit the ground. When Bubbles was only a few feet from the ground, he kicked Bubbles upward much like a football.

At this point, Bubbles was able to stop her ascent to the sky and righted herself. This time, she noticed, the pain from the blows didn't just go away, as it did a few minutes ago. Her body was now aching in the places where Boomer had hit her.

'Oh no, we're going to lose,' she realized. 'Well, I'm not going down easy!'

Bubbles then attacked Boomer. But Bubbles was no match against his faster and stronger adversary. She tried punching him and kicking him in a fast pace, but Boomer seemed faster, and with a grace that no one suspected of him, skilfully and beautifully avoided every attack. She tried using laser eyes, but he dodged every attack.

"Well, give up?" Boomer asked.

"I'm not yet out of this fight!" Bubbles said, then grabbed his head and attempted to kiss him.

"Oh no you don't!" Boomer said. Before Bubbles lips could make contact, he laser-eyed Bubbles and quickly backed away. "You're not going to do that trick again!"

Boomer then began his final attack on his counterpart. It was devastating. Blow upon deadly blow was thrown at Bubbles, and at each, Bubbles was weakened considerably. Bubbles backed away and gathered the remnants of her energy to fend off the attack of the blue ruff and absorb the blows. Boomer floated up the sky.

"Remember this game?" asked Boomer. He then began hitting Bubbles in the ground using his laser-eyes from high in the sky.

This time, Bubbles was too weak to avoid the blasts. Soon, she was being hit by laser-blast after laser-blast.

"Hey, my aim's better now at Double A than SGAF," he said as he made another hit at Bubbles.

After a minute, he descended to where Bubbles was standing weakly. Her legs were barely able to support her, and she was covered with soot from the blasts. Unlike the previous laser-attacks, these ones were able to weaken her. And the futile efforts to avoid them exhausted what remained of her energy.

"Sweet dreams, Bubbles," he said that. With that, he punched Bubbles in the face. Bubbles was now unconscious.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Blossom was confidently awaiting Brick's attack. She felt that she could take whatever Brick can throw at her.

Brick, in a speed she hadn't noticed before, quickly punched Blossom very hard in the face, giving the Powerpuff leader a black eye, and nearly throwing her to the ground. Brick then kicked her in the back, this time plowing her into the ground. Brick then made a large block of ice, and threw it at Blossom.

The ice exploded on impact, and Blossom emerged wounded, bruised and hurt. The three blows effectively damaged her body enough to reduce her strength. However, she was still strong enough to attack and dodge. She was just not as powerful as before.

Blossom shouted and with a war-cry, charged Brick with one hand extended intending to ram him with it. Brick, however, managed to block it with his arms. Like her sisters, she then tried a flurry of punches and kicks which were all ineffective since Brick was too fast.

Blossom drew back, and to her amazement, she noticed that she has an extremely difficult time, and that a large part of her strength was gone. She then noticed that much of her body was in pain. 'No! This cant' be!'

At that moment, Brick charged, and punched Blossom in the face. Blossom was thrown back, but still conscious. Brick then kicked her in the side, after which he punched her in the stomach. Still, Blossom was standing. To finish her, he laser-eyed her. Still, she was standing, but much weaker than before.

Blossom was still full of defiance. She decided to go for one last try. Gathering the last of her energy, power and strength, she charged Brick. Like her earlier efforts, however, it did not succeed.

"Any last words?"

"Just one. Why did you pretend to be weaker than we were at the beginning of the fight? Why didn't you just finish us at the start?"

"Well Blossom, it's fun to give your enemies confidence that they will win, and take it away in the last minute. It's fun to give them hope, and crush it when they most needed it. Look at their faces when they realized that all the hope they had crumbled like a cookie. All the confidence that they will gain at the start of the fight will be tossed into the dirt at the end of it. You should have seen your faces when you learned first that we were no mere pushovers, and after that, that we were much superior than you," he explained. After that, he hit her head with his own, and Blossom was out of it.

The Rowdyruff Boys had won the first fight.

* * *

They were floating together at the sky, staring at the unconscious forms of their counterparts.

"You should have seen me! I was punching and kicking and…" Boomer suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"My fight was even better!" Butch replied. "I was…"

"Dad!" Brick said upon seeing his father upon the side of the forest road. "Did you see our fight? Did we do good? Looked, we've beaten them, we've beaten them!" He began shouting and jumping up and down like the six year old that he is. "Yahoo! Victory is ours! We got our revenge!"

"Yeah, we won! Dad, did you see me. I was great!" Butch boasted while doing a victory jig.

"We won! We won! And no kisses this time!" Boomer proclaimed, slapping his palm on Brick's back. "And I haven't had so much fun! And yeah, we were avenged!"

Soon, all three were acting like kids who just won a video game.

"Boys," Dr. Edwards' voice suddenly interrupted.

All three stopped celebrating.

"Yes?" all three said simultaneously.

"I'm proud of you. You really did train hard, and for that, we're going to celebrate."

"Yeah!"

"But first, I'll check how much damage they've got," Dr. Edwards said, and took out various kinds of portable medical equipment.

The boys looked at each other, and began to fear that they may have accidentally maimed one of the girls for life.

After about a half hour, the doctor finished.

"How are they?" asked Brick.

"Well, thanks to their super-healing abilities, tomorrow, they will be back in shape. However, they need lots of rest and relaxation. Their wounds and bruises will heal in a few hours at the very least and two days at the most. But they will remain unconscious for the next two hours or so. Anyway, you three boys go on home. I'll make sure these girls get to their home safely."

"Okay! See you later Dad!" Boomer said. With that, the boys flew at top speed to their house, while Dr. Edwards loaded the girls in his car and began to drive towards the home of one of his childhood friends, Sandra Keane.


	5. Aftermath

**Allies and Rivals**

To Hairy Gregory, well, I'm flattered but my scene is not the best. I've read many fanfics whose fight scenes would put my work to shame. Uncle Sam, TJ Rose, thanks. BrYtt Bratt, you'll see. Just wait for the updates. You won't be disappointed. DL2300, thanks, but what do you mean. I'm sure of having written my stories, although this is the only story I've posted in so far. And this would probably would be, since I plan to complete the story first before making another one.

**Chapter 5**

**Aftermath**

* * *

The City of Townsville, and the Powerpuff Girls had just been defeated.

Dr. Edwards sighed as he drove up the house of his childhood friend, Sandra Keane. 'Sandy hasn't changed her address after all. I wonder how she'll look? I wonder how she'll react to seeing me? After all, we haven't seen each other since high school.'

He then looked at the girls.

'I wonder what I should say?' he thought. 'She would definitely be shocked to see the girls in such a condition. And those girls. Poor girls. My boys certainly did a number on them. I should be thankful they followed my instructions in not making any permanent damages to them. I am proud of you boys, you finally defeated them and gained your revenge without killing or maiming them for life. As for you, Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup, please forgive me. I did what I could, but my boys are more important to me. Don't worry, I'll make sure my sons won't become another one of Townsville's villains. In fact, I'll try to make them Townsville superheroes to help you, although I still don't know how to tell it to them. They would certainly hate being like the Powerpuff Girls, but I think I can talk them into it.'

Dr. Edwards parked the car, carried the girls into his arms, walked towards the door, and used his nose to push the door bell.

The door opened.

"William Edwards! I haven't seen you for so long, won't you stay for lunch, how are you…The girls, what happened to them, come here, come here…" the astonished teacher of the Powerpuff Girls said.

"Good to see you too, Sandra," Dr. Edwards said. "As for the girls, they were beaten up. That's all I can say. Please give them to Professor Utonium."

"Aren't you going to see John? After all, William, you are his best friend," Ms. Keane replied.

"I can't. I'm too busy. But I might go back here. It's a long time since I saw you and we might catch up on old times? How about tomorrow?"

"Of course," Ms. Keane said as she took the girls from the arms of Dr. Edwards. "You're always welcome in my home. How are they?"

"They were beaten up pretty good. But they'll be all right. I patched them up so all they need is some rest and relaxation."

"Still, poor girls," Ms. Keane said as she saw the bruised faces, cut lips and black eyes. "I'll bring them to John. Are you sure you don't want to come? I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to see you."

"You have no idea, but no thanks. Say hi to the girls for me when they wake up."

"I will William, I will," Ms. Keane said as she put the Powerpuff girls in the back of the car and drove off towards the home of Professor Utonium.

* * *

The boys are in the house, celebrating their triumph. It was a proud and happy moment.

"Did you see the face of Buttercup when I proved that she wasn't the toughest?"

"I can imagine," Boomer said. "But you should have seen Bubbles. She actually kneeled in front of me and begged for mercy!"

"She did? I can't imagine that happening with Blossom. Anyway, at least we got our revenge. Those girls would think twice before attempting to mess with us," Brick said. "Though I think that won't be our last fight with our girls."

"What do you mean Brick?" asked Butch. "We plowed the girls into the ground. After they recovered, they should be cowering at the mere mention at our names."

"Wrong, Butch, wrong," Brick replied. "Those girls, especially Blossom and Buttercup, won't just sit around moping about being beaten. Like us, they are proud, and for somebody who is previously undefeated in all their fights, being defeated for the first time is certainly a traumatic feeling. Thus, they would want to beat us next time just to salvage their pride. They'll want to beat us, even if we don't do any crime or terrorizing, just because we beat them."

"You're right," Butch said. "But still, we'll kick their butts next time they try to mess with us."

"You're right, Butch. But still, I'll bet they would train just like us to become stronger."

"Don't be such a party pooper Brick!" Boomer suddenly said. "We finally achieved vengeance! Let's celebrate!"

"I guess you're right," Brick said, and joined in the celebrating.

Suddenly, Dr. Edwards arrived.

"Dad!" they shouted, and dropped whatever they were doing and hugged him

* * *

In the Utonium house…

"Oh my God. Girls! What happened! Oh no, oh no, oh no! Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup! Speak to me!" Professor Utonium said with dread, alarm and panic. As he said so, he grabbed the three unconscious girls from Ms. Keane and hastily put them in bed. He was too busy with his experiments that he didn't bother watching the news so he was completely surprised. Ten minutes later, their room was full of medical equipment and the Professor was doing a series of tests. He was covered with sweat and was very nervous. His attention was so directed towards the girls that he forgot Ms. Keane was even in there. Ms. Keane, however, understood and just followed the Professor.

Ten minutes later, the Professor wiped his brow of sweat and breath a sigh of relief.

"How are they?" suddenly asked Ms. Keane.

"Ms. Keane? How long have you been there?" he asked with surprised apprehension. "Oh yes, I forgot you were there. Sorry for that."

"Oh that's all right. I understand. So how are they?"

"They're all right. They'll be fine in a day or so. But who did this?! Who are the damned bastards that did this to my precious little girls?! I'll make sure he doesn't get more than a day's freedom!"

"Calm down, John," Ms. Keane suggested.

"CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! How could I calm down when my girls were so beaten up! How would you feel if you had a daughter and she got beaten up?"

Ms. Keane was quiet. The Professor, however, soon calmed down.

"Sorry Sandra. I was just…"

"I understand," Ms. Kean said.

"So what happened?" asked Professor Utonium.

"I don't know. I was just in my home minding my own business and William…"

"William Edwards? What did he do—"

"…as I was saying, William…." She then narrated what happened. "You should thank him. He was the one who first patched the girls up and probably speeded their recovery."

"Why did he do such a thing?" asked an amazed Professor Utonium.

"He's your best friend, remember? And he's a decent man, as you know, and even if the Powerpuff Girls were not your girls, he wouldn't have acted any different."

"I can't thank him…"

"Why?"

"Because…I don't know where he lives and his phone number," he quickly said.

"I can fix that. William will go to my house tomorrow. Why don't you go and see your best friend?"

"Well…uh…you see…I've got to watch over my girls," he said.

"Oh. Why don't I invite him over here? I'm sure he'll want to see you as well as look over the girls?"

"I guess," the Professor, confident that Dr. Edwards would not want to see him.

"Okay," Ms. Keane said.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"How do you feel now that you've beaten the Powerpuff Girls?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Great!" Boomer said.

"Yeah Dad, it's like a load has been taken off my back, you know," Butch said. "Now, we won't have to be ashamed that we were beaten by…girls!"

"And you know Dad, I don't hate the girls anymore," Brick said, drawing the stares of the others. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like them any better than before, but now that the reason for the hate is gone, the hate itself is gone."

"So how do you feel towards the girls now that you've beaten them?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Well Dad, it's not hate," Brick replied. "When I won, well, I think its contempt, or something like that. I just realized that she's not worth spilling my guts about."

"Oh. By the way, what does stance HB and SGAF mean?" their father asked.

"HB means Hold Back. It basically meant we let ourselves be beaten up by them to see how strong they punch," Boomer said.

"SGAF means Stand Ground and Fight. It means we would try to fight at their level," Brick explained.

"And this is something you didn't hear. Double A. It means Aggressive Attack and it meant we fight with all our might. That is the stand we used to finish them off," Butch finished.

"That's stance Butch, stance, not stand," Brick corrected.

"Whatever!" Brick said.

"Why didn't you just finish them off at the start?" asked Dr. Edwards.

Brick was about to repeat the speech he made to Blossom, but Butch interrupted him.

"Well, we want to make them think they were winning, and when they're so full of themselves, we brought them down," Butch explained.

"I see. And are you happy about the result?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"You bet Dad! It's like a part of us was whole again when we defeated them," Boomer said.

"And we can say with pride again to the world that we're the Rowdyruff Boys!" Brick said. "Thanks Dad for letting and helping us defeat them."

"Yeah, now we can live like one big happy family!" Boomer said.

"No. Boomer, no," Dr. Edwards said. "We already are living in one big family."

* * *

Hours later…

Blossom felt her head spin, and she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the ceiling of their room. "What happened?" she asked as she shook her head.

"Blossom!" Professor Utonium said and began hugging Blossom as tight as he could.

"Professor, I can't breath!" Blossom complained.

"Oh sorry! I'm so proud of you! You beat those boys even if you yourselves were beaten up!" Professor Utonium said.

"Ha? What are you talking about, Professor?" asked Blossom.

"Don't be modest. It's all over the news. The Rowdyruff Boys ran away from the fight, and you chased them all the way to the forest to finish them off. Though I still don't get how you were in such a state. Serves those boys right! Look, I'll show you. It's in the news." He turned on the TV.

"Breaking news. This is Stanley Whitfield. The network just obtained a video of the fight that happened after the Rowdyruff Boys retreated." The network then showed the footage where the Powerpuff Girls were defeated. "Well, according to the video, Townsville's three heroes were actually defeated by the Rowdyruff Boys. The Boys made an ambush in the forest, and the girls had no chance. As for the damages the fight caused on the city, local entrepreneur Dr. William K. Edwards promised to pay for it."

Professor Utonium was shocked. He had watched the TV a few hours ago and it reported that the girls had won, even if they were very much beaten up. He had concluded that they had just collapsed from exhaustion. Now he knew. For the first time ever, his girls had lost, and were pretty badly beaten up too.

Blossom tried to rise from bed, but her body was still aching from the beating she got. But it was not the physical pain that upset her. No, it was not. Watching the TV refreshed her memory of all that happened, and the psychological blow became harder to bear than the physical blow.

They had lost. Lost. For the first time ever, they had lost fair and square. The Powerpuff Girls failed. 'We lost, we failed Townsville. We are no longer undefeated. We are no longer the greatest of all six-year-olds.'

Also on Blossom's mind was Townsville. 'What of Townsville? Without us, nothing is going to stop the Rowdyruff Boys from terrorizing the City.'

"Professor, how long had I been out?" asked Blossom.

"Four hours Blossom," the Professor replied.

Blossom looked out the window. It was late, but still bright, about seven in the evening. "Townsville, what happened to Townsville? Had they destroyed Townsville yet?" asked an anxious Blossom.

"No Blossom, nothing's happened," Professor reassured her.

At that moment, Bubbles woke up.

"Good morning Professor, Blossom. Boy, had I a scary dream. I dreamt that we faced those mean boys again, and we were beating them up, then they were just playing possum, so it became even. But then, they were actually way stronger than us, and they beat us up silly! What a strange dream!" she said in her normal voice.

"Bubbles, it was not a dream," Blossom explained.

"It was not?" Bubbles replied incredulously. "Oh well! Too bad those boys had to be evil and want to destroy Townsville. Then we can't be their friends and they can't be ours. Too bad," Bubbles said with a twinge of sadness and disappointment.

Blossom and Professor Utonium were amazed at Bubbles reaction. They had expected her to be extremely angry, or disappointed, but not cheerful. However, they remembered that it was Bubbles, so they weren't that surprised.

"Is Townsville all right?" asked a worried Bubbles.

"It is Bubbles. It is. Those boys haven't wreaked havoc yet," Professor Utonium answered.

"I wonder why? Maybe they aren't so bad after all," Bubbles opined.

"Are you kidding?" Buttercup, who just awoke, quickly replied. "They were probably celebrating before taking over Townsville. Dang, and we wouldn't be able to stop them _when_ they do."

"Buttercup! How long have you been awake?" asked the Professor.

"Long enough to hear Bubbles babble," Buttercup replied. "Oh, my aching back. Those beatings sure did a number on my body."

"So all we do is to wait around moping in bed while the Rowdyruff Boys terrorize Townsville?" Blossom incredulously suggested.

"How about kissing them when they got naughty?" Bubbles said, giggling. "Problem is, they won't let you get near them for me to kiss him." She then narrated the incident where she attempted to kiss Boomer but he laser-eyed her before she could even get close.

"That's it. They'll obviously afraid that they'll explode if we kissed them again, so why don't we do it?" Blossom suggested.

"No way. Yuck!" Buttercup suddenly said. "Besides, what if it doesn't work? Where does that leave us? I suggest we train so we could become as strong and fast as they are. I suggest we train in the training room at hardcore or higher!" 'Damn it Butch, I'll train higher, and just you see. I can be and am the toughest fighter. Ha, ha, ha, the Powerpuff Girls will rule again!' she thought, the memory of her defeat still fresh in her memory.

"Buttercup's right. We should train, no, we will train. Of course, we'll try kissing them, but if it doesn't work, we'll beat them up next time," Blossom declared.

"Not until you recover, girls. Your bodies are bad enough as it is without getting further beaten up training in hardcore level or higher," Professor Utonium said with concern.

"But promise us Professor that you'll help us train after we completely recovered?" Blossom asked in the sweetest voice possible. "After all, it is for Townsville. We need to become stronger for Townsville."

"Okay Blossom," Professor Utonium acquiesced. "For Townsville. But not until you fully recovered. And I don't want you charging those boys until you're sure you're ready for them."

"Okay professor," Buttercup impatiently said.

"Professor, what happened after we got knocked out?" asked a curious Bubbles.

"It seems to me that William, I mean Dr. Edwards, found you and brought you to Ms. Keane, who brought you here."

"We should thank him after we recovered for that," Bubbles said. Soon, the conversation drifted to other topics, but the fight was still in all their minds.

'Just wait, Brick, just wait. You'll just be a footnote in Townsville history,' Blossom thought. Still, the weight of failure still bore large on her shoulders, and thinking of revenge and saving Townsville did not remove it.

* * *

It was August 8.

Dr. Edwards quickly straightened his tie and removed his hat. This was his first, if you discounted the time where he gave the girls to her, meeting with one of his high school friends in more than thirty years. He was wearing one of his blue suits with a white coat. He wiped his glasses before clicking on the doorbell.

Seconds later, Sandra Keane opened the door.

"Hi Sandra! Long time no see, not counting about our meeting yesterday," Dr. Edwards greeted. "I remember you told me its okay if I come over, so here I am!"

"William, you should know that you're always welcome at my home at any time you want. You are, after all, my best friend," Ms. Keane said.

"Thanks Sandra. It's a really nice hearing that from you. After all, it's more than twenty years since we last saw and talked to each other," Dr. Edwards replied.

"Nonsense. Come in, come in. Look at you, William Knox Edwards, P.h.D., and several doctorates, and now head of the largest technology company in the country, foremost scientist an inventor of Citiesville and with John, one of the two greatest scientists from Townsville. And the richest man in Citiesville and Townsville. Why the last time we saw you, you were just another member of the gang, and now, look at you. You must have led a pretty exciting life," Ms. Keane said as she served her friend a cup of coffee.

"I'm not THAT good! And I have no idea I was that famous!" Dr. Edwards said, amazed at what he heard others say of him. He was quite too busy to heed what the media was always saying about him.

"Don't be modest, William," Ms. Keane teased. "You deserved all those honors. You worked for them, and if I know you, you earned every one of them. So what happened in the last twenty years?"

"Nothing that the newspapers hadn't already reported, even if it was only in page 12," he laughed. "How about you Sandra, how'd you do?"

And they mostly talked about the past happenings. That is, until they began to talk about the Powerpuff Girls.

"By the way, you should come to John's home. I'm sure he's eager to see you," Ms. Keane suggested out of the blue.

"Sorry I'm too busy right now. Don't worry, I'll call him as soon as I can," Dr. Edwards replied. Ms. Keane was curious on why he wouldn't go to his house immediately, but thought nothing of it.

* * *

It was August 10.

The City of Townsville had just recovered from the state of anxiety that it went through just after it received news that their heroes had been defeated. No major disasters occurred, the victors haven't tried wreaking havoc or try taking over Townsville. The usual villains, like Mojo, Him or the Gang Green Gang were quiet lately, and even the usual Monster attacks seemed to have temporarily ceased. Only the usual crimes happened. As a result, the citizens just concluded that the fight was no big deal.

Dr. Edwards, Brick, Boomer and Butch were in the First National Bank. Dr. Edwards was depositing a sum of money and at the same time showing his boys how to use a check and what the functions of a bank are. When suddenly, a pair of bank robbers appeared.

"Hands up, and nobody will get hurt!" the first bank robber, Moe, said. He is six feet seven high, with a rough voice, and wearing a black mask. He wore black all over and was carrying a sack with one hand and a loaded gun on the other.

All the people in the bank, including Dr. Edwards and the three boys, raised their hands.

"Dad, what are they doing?" asked Boomer.

"They're robbing a bank, stupid!" Butch replied.

"Now Butch, that's no way to talk to your brother," Dr. Edwards admonished his son. "Anyway, there's a bank robbery, and what should you three do?"

"Hey, I remember this when we watched all those videos of the Powerpuff Girls," Brick said. "They always seem to want to stop those crooks."

"Why don't you stop them?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Because we'll be like those Powerpuff Girls," Brick said with disgust. "It's the last thing we would like."

"But I thought you wanted to be better at everything than the girls," asked their father.

"We would, but it doesn't mean that we would like to be just like them," Butch said.

"Don't you three like to be heroes? Superheroes?" asked William.

"No," all three said. "Flying around saving everyone else's skin is not our idea of fun!"

"Okay. But you should stop these robbers. You know, I deposited a lot of money here, and I wouldn't want to lose them because of those idiots."

"If you put it that way Dad, we'll stop them for you," Brick shouted.

"Hey shut up!" the smaller robber, who has a high voice, is 5 foot 1, and a scrawny body shouted at Brick. "Hey, you're the boys that beat up those Powerpuff Girls!"

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Mayor, the First National Bank is being robbed," Sara Bellum said to the Mayor of Townville.

"The bank is being robbed! The bank is being robbed! Call the police! Call the national guard!" panicked the Mayor who then hid below his desk.

"Mayor, I suggest you call the Powerpuff Girls," Ms. Bellum suggested.

"Oh yeah," and he then reached for the hot line.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Hello," Professor Utonium answered.

"Professor, get the Powerpuff Girls. The First National Bank is being robbed!"

"I'm on it Mayor!" the Professor said as he hung-up the phone and called his girls.

The girls had already recovered and are now training in hardcore x2 in an effort to equal the strength and skill of the Rowdyruff Boys.

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were about to fight a huge simulated Monster when suddenly all of it was off, and all they could see was the walls of the lab. "Girls, there's a robbery at the First National Bank!"

"Okay girls," Blossom said. "It's time to show the people of Townsville that we're not down!"

Soon, all three was flying towards the First National Bank. However, when they arrived, they discovered the robbers in stretchers and being carried into an ambulance. The robbers were severely beaten up.

"What happened officer?" asked Blossom.

"Oh Powerpuff Girls, I thought you were goners when we heard what happened a few days ago. I'm so glad you're all right," the officer replied.

"Well, thanks, but what happened? It doesn't seem that you guys did this to those robbers," Blossom asked.

"Well, there were three boys, one with green shirt and eyes and black hair, one red haired, red eyed and wears a cap and another one a blond, I think, wearing a blue shirt. I think they were the ones who beat you a few days ago. Who thought they could be such good heroes? They suddenly lashed out at the robbers and pretty soon those robbers were in agony and pain. They soon disappeared as soon as the robbers were severely mauled. I'll tell you, they caught the two most dangerous robbers in the state, the same ones headquarters said sneaked into Townsville a few days ago. Yes sir, Townsville owes them a debt of gratitude, for who knows how much havoc they would be causing if they weren't caught by those boys? Anyway, it looks like Townsville have another set of super heroes. I think they called themselves the Rowdyruff Boys!"

The girls were stupefied after hearing the officer's account. They asked several others people and they pretty much said the same thing.

"Now why would those jerks do such a thing?" asked Buttercup as they flew home.

"Maybe they aren't that bad after all?" Bubbles suggested.

"No. I think they're up to something. I can feel it," Blossom said. "Evil boys like them just don't turn good for no reason at all. They probably want to lull Townsville into a false sense of security, and then they'll strike." 'But I'm not even sure about that. What are those boys up to?' she thought. 'Whatever it is, I bet it's no good. We better prepare ourselves.'

* * *

In the meantime…

Dr. Edwards quickly slipped out and got into his car before anyone could recognize him in the scuffle. His boys, after taking care of the robbers, quickly joined their father when they saw him, and they drove towards McDonald's, where they planned to have lunch.

"Boys I am very proud of you for what you did a while ago. Now people would say that you're…" Dr. Edwards began to find the right word, for the boys don't want to be called heroes, "good sons for protecting their Dad, yeah that's it!"

"Now, you all know that you have powers, and you have defeated the Powerpuff Girls, it's up to you to protect the citizens of Townsville…"

"Why should we protect the stupid Citizens of Townsville?" interrupted Butch.

"Yeah, and besides, most of them are complete idiots! Why they even voted for that more idiotic mayor!" Boomer added.

"Yeah. Why should we slave away for these people who can't even take care of themselves!" Brick asked. "We're not superheroes."

"Well, superhero or not, these people need some help. I agree with you, most of the people here are idiots, especially the mayor. But that is why these people need you. It is because they would need to look up to you, to be confident that they are safe because you are watching over them," then seeing his boys beginning to get bored, shifted the emphasis of the speech.

"Besides, if you don't protect the people of Townsville, they wouldn't be able to buy the products of my company, and if you don't catch crooks or defeat the monsters that keep invading Townsville, many of my properties and buildings will be robbed or destroyed. And I hate to depend on the Powerpuff Girls to protect them since I have already boys who are quite capable of protecting them. Also, doing so would give you a chance to prove that you're better than the Powerpuff Girls in what they do best."

The boys listened to the last part of their fathers' speech with guilt. He had recreated them, took them in, adopted them as their own sons, even helped them achieve victory over the Powerpuff Girls, and now, they wouldn't even help him protect his properties and businesses? What a shame it is if they would leave the protecting of their own father's property to their enemies! And the thought of one-upping the Powerpuff Girls again helped persuade them to come to Dr. Edwards' point of view.

"Okay Dad, we'll do it," Brick conceded. "But we're doing it not for the stupid citizens of Townsville, but because we need to protect you Dad, and your properties."

"But won't that make us superheroes?" asked Butch.

"No Butch," Dr. Edwards answered. "Superheroes do thing for noble and unselfish reasons, you're doing it because it's in your own interest to do so. So you're no hero or superhero for that matter if you start fighting the crooks, villains and monsters of Townsville. Besides, you get to beat them up before tossing them in jail."

"All right! But can we kill those criminals? After all, they're all scum," Butch asked.

"As much as I am tempted to grant you permission, and believe me, the temptation is strong, you can't," answered Dr. Edwards. "You can only kill some of the monsters that attack Townsville, and none of the criminals and villains. If you do, you'll be no better than those scum you killed."

"Is that bad?" asked Boomer.

"Let's just say it would ruin my reputation as a father and yours too," Dr. Edwards said. "Do you want your father to be shunned by people for having raised his sons as murderers?"

"I guess not," Brick replied.

They soon arrived at McDonalds, ordered their food, and continued their conversation while eating lunch.

"Then it's settled. Now to help you boys, I have created a radar with access to almost any part of Townsville," Dr. Edwards said after he finished his Big Mac. "I have people all over Townsville whom I instructed to contact me whenever a crime or monster attack occurs. I will then relay the information to you through this."

He then took from his wallet three ordinarily looking electronic watches colored blue, red and green. "Now, these looks like any ordinary watch, and it is a watch. But it's more than a watch. It's a communicator, kinda like the one you see on spy movies. Now, if you press this button, you will immediately be connected to my own watch," he then showed the boys his brown watch, similar to the one he planned to give to the boys, "and you can talk to me anywhere in the world."

"Anywhere? But how is that possible?" asked Brick.

"You forget, that your father is a brilliant scientist and inventor, worked for the government once, the head of the largest technology company in the country, and the richest man in Citiesville and Townsville. All I did is launch three satellites in space so we can track each other down anywhere. Now, as I said, I have people scattered all over Townsville who will tell me if any crime is committed or if any monster attacks Townsville. As soon as I get it, I will relay it to you and you probably know what to do."

"Cool!" the three of them exclaimed.

"Anyway, the controls of this watch are a combination of a cellular phone, a calculator and a watch. Now, pressing this button will give you contact with each other, so you can talk to each other whenever you like and wherever you are. So boys, be very careful with these," Dr. Edwards warned.

"Yes Dad, we will," they said as they quickly put them on.

"Oh yes, you could also use it a TV remote control," Dr. Edwards added.

* * *

It was August 14…

The past four days had been largely quiet. Since the news that the same boys who had beaten the Powerpuff Girls busted some bank robbers, some criminals who took heart at the girls defeat again sulked in their corners. As for the Citizens of Townsville, there was a buzz of new superheroes, but since the Rowdyruff Boys only made one appearance, they still waited before they would acclaim them.

Of the Powerpuff Girls, even their defeat could not remove the city's affection for the three superheroes. Even the talk about new superheroes did not diminish the girls' places in the hearts of the people of Townsville.

The Powerpuff Girls themselves continued training, and since it was quiet, they spent as much as six hours in the training room. They already surpassed hardcore x6, but were determined to finish it so to surpass the strength of the boys. They planned to confront and fight the boys once they think they can take them on. They, especially Blossom, continued to wonder what the boys were really up to. The girls, except Bubbles, refuse to believe that the boys were sincere superheroes and that something sinister was afoot. But today, the girls are off to do something else…

"Hello Mr. Clark , it's us again," Blossom greeted the clerk in Dr. Edwards office in Townsville one bright morning. "Is the Doctor around?"

"You're in luck kids. He just came to work this day. I'll call him," Mr. Clark said. Ten minutes later, Dr. Edwards emerged at the lobby.

"Hi Girls," greeted Dr. Edwards. "Why are you here and what can I do for you?"

"Hi Doctor," they said.

"We came here to thank you for taking care of us and giving us over to Ms. Keane after we were beaten up," Blossom said.

"Thanks Doctor," Bubbles said. "We would have been in much worst condition if it were not for you." She then flew eye level and pecked him in the cheek. She then gave him a hug. Blossom followed and Buttercup, after initially hesitating, hugged him. Then they all pecked him in the cheek. Dr. Edwards was red, blushing.

He then was filled with guilt about helping caused the Powerpuff Girls so much physical pain. He was beginning to love the girls, but he had no regrets about what he had done. Helping his sons achieve emotional stability was top priority, and his solution had positive effects. The hate lingering in their hearts disappeared, and they are now free to live on their lives without of any disconcerting emotions that would haunt their childhood.

But the girls were so cute, and who in their right mind would not be endeared to them? He felt so bad for the girls and what he's done that he began to tear-up.

"I'm so sorry girls," he said.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about, doctor," Blossom said.

"Yeah, doctor," Bubbles said, thinking he was sorry for not healing them enough. "Don't feel bad. You couldn't have acted any other way."

Wiping his tears, ashamed at having teared-up in front of the girls, he quickly composed himself.

"Doctor, can we ask you something?"

"Yes Blossom?"

"We would like you to go over and see your old friend Professor Utonium," asked Bubbles.

Dr. Edwards didn't know what to do. He certainly didn't want to see his hated rival, but he didn't want to disappoint the girls. He quickly found a solution.

"Of course, as soon as John, your Professor, calls me at my office and invites me over, I'll go see him," Dr. Edwards replied. 'That was brilliant. The ball is now in your court, John. Of course, you and I know you would not want to see me ever again!'

"Really?" Blossom said.

"Of course," Dr. Edwards said. "Now have you girls had lunch?"

"Not really," Bubbles said.

"Perfect! How about if I take you three to lunch, my treat?"

The girls readily agreed.

"But didn't Professor Utonium tell you never to go with strangers?"

"He did," Buttercup began, "but you're not a stranger anymore. You're our friend. And besides, we can kick the butts of anybody who tried to mess with us."

The doctor then treated the girls to lunch, and spent the rest of the day till three in the afternoon with them. He took them on another tour of his company, and took them to the park.

He then began telling old stories from his childhood and about Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum, and even the Professor when they were kids. But he carefully avoided talking about the recent fight or about Professor Utonium in the present.

He went home at three and spent the rest of the day with his sons.

For the next few days, the girls always visited Dr. Edwards when he was at his office. They also tried to persuade Professor Utonium to invite over Dr. Edwards, but the Professor seemed always busy.

* * *

It was August 16…

The Doctor was at home, watching TV one lazy afternoon. Soon, his watched beeped.

"Dr. Edwards, Mojo Jojo has just launched a giant robot and is preparing to attack Townsville," one of his people reported.

"Thanks Jim," he said as he called his son. "Brick, Boomer, Butch, come here," Dr. Edwards shouted. The boys were all playing in the house, playing action figures and toy soldiers, so he didn't use his communicator.

Soon, with a whoosh of red, blue and green, the boys are in front of the doctor.

"Yes Dad?" Brick asked.

"Yes. Mojo Jojo has just attacked Townsville," Dr. Edwards said.

The boys didn't move.

"Why? Aren't you going to stop him?" asked the Doctor.

"Well Dad, we can't," Boomer said.

"What do you mean?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Dad, Mojo Jojo is our original creator. We can't just beat him up because he did some evil things," Brick explained.

"Yeah Dad, and besides, we're evil too, we can never attack our original creator for doing what they're supposed to do," Butch added.

Dr. Edwards slapped his head. 'They think they're still evil? Refusing to attack their original creator I can understand, but them believing they're still evil?' He was disappointed, not at his boys, but at himself for not earlier correcting it.

"And what makes you think you're evil?"

"Well, we're created evil, and I don't think we've changed that much since that time," Brick explained.

"And we're not good little boys," Butch said.

The Doctor then knew they were deceiving themselves. He knew that no matter how much they think they were evil and how much they remained the same, he knew that they had changed profoundly since he accidentally recreated them more than a month ago. In fact, he was amazed by the transformation of attitudes in the boys in just one month compared to other boys. He knew that if they didn't change, they wouldn't take him up on his offer to stay with him and form a new family, listen to his sermons on what is wrong and right by appealing to their self-interests and their love and loyalty to the him, call him Dad sincerely, behave in Townsville, leave the Powerpuff Girls alive, not terrorize Townsville or taking over it after defeating the girls, listen to his appeals and instructions, beat up the bank robbers, or agree to fight crime and monsters.

'Maybe the memory and the legacy of the raw chemical X that Mojo used still had its effects, most notably in the brain, where the morals and attitudes that had been developed by that monkey still remained, although the new chemical X seemed to have mitigated its effects. The new chemical changed the course of the ethics of the boys, but only to what they've learned after their recreation. The original values instilled to them by Mojo is still in their memory, though they are less inclined to learn negative values because of the new chemical.'

'Anyway, though consciously they retained much of the values instilled to them by Mojo and the raw Chemical X, unconsciously and subconsciously, they began to drift away from them. Though they still harbor much loyalty to the old ethics, they are slowly drifting towards the right path. Consciously, they began to follow my instructions and little by little forget what Mojo thought them. All I need is to manage it so that they _in time_ would be _completely_ good boys. _Trying to change them too quickly will only lead them to stubbornly cling to their old values. And saying all what they believed and did was wrong all at once would cause them to lose confidence in themselves, extreme guilt or denial, and would lead to unpredictable consequences._ What I did is use the value that was instilled early on by my recreation to them—loyalty to myself for recreating them—and use it to slowly but steadily chip away the values that Mojo has instilled in them, and replace them with my own, and all of it without them really knowing. Thus, they would change for the better and they wouldn't have the severe guilt that would retard their emotional development. Boy, I should have been a psychiatrist, no wait a minute, I do have a degree in psychiatry, I just don't practice it. I think I'll call this theory the _**Mojo Theory**_.'

The boys noticed that somehow, the doctor became lost in his own thoughts. So they decided to call their Dad again.

"Dad, earth to Dad," Boomer said.

"Huh, oh sorry, what is it we're talking about?"

"About why we can't beat up Mojo Jojo, our Pops," Butch said.

"So you won't beat stop him?"

They all nodded.

"Sorry Dad. We promise you that we will kick the butts of every other villain and criminal and monster, but not Mojo," Brick said.

Dr. Edwards knew it would be useless to change their minds from this angle, so he decided to use a different tactic.

"Well, what if Mojo attacked me?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"If he did, we'll make sure we beat the living daylights out of him," Butch responded.

Dr. Edwards faked surprise. "Oh, but I thought you were very loyal to him because he is your original creator?"

"Yeah, but we love you and are more loyal to you Dad. You recreated us, gave us a home, helped us defeat those stupid girls, everything that we could ever imagine, asking very little of us in return, while Mojo only created us and used us and gave us nothing. He didn't even try to recreate us once we were destroyed. So choosing between you and Mojo, we would choose you Dad, but between Mojo and any other person, we would choose Mojo," Brick explained.

"And what of my property? What if he destroyed some of my property but not me?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"We would still kick his butt! He shouldn't get away from hurting you or your property," Boomer stated.

"Okay, so you're saying to me is that you would attack Mojo only if he attacks me or my property?"

The three nodded.

"Promise me that you'll stop him if he does either," Dr. Edwards said.

"We promise," all three said.

"Can we go and tell Mojo so he won't attack you or your property so we won't have to beat him up?" Boomer asked.

"Okay," the doctor said.

Then the three flew off to where Mojo attacked.

'Excellent. Good thing that my properties are scattered all over Townsville that Mojo could not attack any part of the city without accidentally damaging some of it. Either he refrain from attacking, or his health would be in constant hazard from my boys.'


	6. Mistaken Perceptions

**Allies and Rivals**

To Hairy Gregory, I was planning to include the fight, but I decided to take your advice and shorten my chapters. This chapter was much shorter than the others. If you want longer chapters, just tell me so. And thanks for the review. And the girls will find out, the only question is when and how. To TJ Rose and Uncle Sam, thanks. To Teesa, well, we've got different opinions about the RRB. Thanks for the review anyway. To DL23400, I'm flattered, but I'm not good at writing. I have seen lots of grammatical and spelling errors that I didn't see and correct when I was editing my work. And no, I haven't published anything. Anyway, thanks.

To all reviewers, thanks. It really is a treat to see that some people like to read my stories. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Mistaken Perceptions**

The City of Townsville, and Mojo Jojo was attacking the city!

"I Mojo Jojo, the evilest genius alive, and the master of terror whose name is none other than Mojo Jojo, will finally destroy Townsville with this new and improved Robo Jojo, and with this new and improved device will I destroy the city. And in destroying the city with my new and improved Robo Jojo, I will prove I am the most evil genius of a monkey alive, and the name of the master of terror is Mojo Jojo to the people of Townsville!"

"But first, I must destroy the Powerpuff Girls if I am to prove I am the most evil genius, and that the name of the master of terror is Mojo Jojo. Good thing this Robo Jojo, which I will use to prove I am the most evil genius, is new and improved so it could take on the Powerpuff Girls! Those Powerpuff Girls will attack thinking it is the old and unimproved Robo Jojo, but when they will attack, they will find out that it is not the old and unimproved Robo Jojo, but the new and improved Robo Jojo, but when they do, they will be destroyed!" He then began laughing evilly. "And now in attacking the city of Townsville, I am luring the girls to their graves!"

"Are you done yapping your long-winded speech?" a tiny, high, yet boyish voice said from below.

"Who? Where? What? Who dares interrupt my speech? And whoever said that, you are wrong, mistaken, false, deceived, erroneous, misguided and very incorrect. My speech is concise, succinct, brief, terse, laconic and short. It does not go around the bush, I repeat, I repeat and I reiterate, it does not go around the bush. My speech is to the point and it is incorrect to say that it is long, wordy, lengthy, boring, long-winded, verbose, garrulous, and effusive. I also do not, I repeat and reiterate, do not repeat over and over what I said. So it would be correct if you said it is concise, succinct, brief, terse, laconic and short and not long, wordy, lengthy, boring, long-winded, verbose, garrulous, effusive."

"And whoever you are, you will pay, you will suffer, you will bear the consequences for your insolence, your impertinence, your rudeness—"

"Oh SHUT UP!" a lower, though still boyish voice shouted.

"Do not tell me what to…Boys!" Mojo Jojo said as he saw the Rowdyruff Boys floating in front of him. "How did you?" He then hugged the boys using the robotic arms. "That is not the point. You are just in time to help me destroy the City of Townsville and defeat the Powerpuff Girls."

"We can't do that, Pops," Brick said.

"Why not?" asked an incredulous Mojo.

"You'll see," Butch said as he broke the glass in front of the robot and grabbed Mojo. Soon, he was dangling by his cape with the boys carrying him towards his volcano-top observatory.

"My Robo Jojo, it's new and improved. You can't just leave it there," he shouted. "I am going to use that to defeat the Powerpuff Girls!"

"When we're done talking to you, you'll realize you won't need that piece of trash," Boomer said.

They soon arrived at Mojo's lair, and they sat Mojo in a chair.

"Boys, now that we're together, we can take over Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," Mojo Jojo said, as if he forgot one little detail of their previous conversation.

"Of course, we'll go back to you and together, we can rule all of Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," Brick said with all the sarcasm he can muster.

"That's good!" Mojo said in delight.

"Of course we won't! We don't want to _destroy_ the Powerpuff Girls and we certainly don't need you to _defeat_ the Powerpuff Girls! And we won't destroy Townsville, or take over it!" Brick replied.

"What do you mean?" Mojo asked perplexed.

"As we were saying, we can't and won't help you defeat the Powerpuff Girls because we already defeated those girls, and if you can't beat them by yourself, then it's your problem, not ours," Boomer replied.

"And Dad pretty much owns much of Townsville, so we don't need to take over it," Butch added with pride.

"Dad? What are you talking about?" the confused monkey asked.

"So Mojo, we don't care if you attack Townsville, and we certainly won't stop you like we would other villains, but if you hurt one hair of our Dad, or place even one scratch at any of his properties, you will suffer a fate worst than what you suffer when beaten by those pathetic girls!" Brick asserted.

"You forget I'm your father, your Dad. And I certainly don't know what you're talking about!" Mojo asserted.

"You're certainly our original creator, Pops, but we don't consider you our father. Dr. William Edwards recreated us, and he certainly is more of a father to us than you were and will ever be. So Mojo, we don't want to hurt you, inasmuch as you created us, but touch one hair of Dad or his properties, and we will not hesitate to thrash you," Brick warned.

"William Edwards, hm, isn't he the pathetic man who—" but he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

Butch suddenly punched him in the face which caused him to be embedded on the opposite wall of his observatory. He soon fell to the ground, leaving his silhouette in the wall.

"And don't ever badmouth our Dad, Mojo!" Boomer said.

Mojo was dizzy, but he was able to stand and walk over to a chair and sit. None of the boys helped him.

"But what if I attack Townsville without causing any damage to his property? Will you leave me alone?"

"Pretty much," said Brick.

"Okay. HEY, I can't attack any part of Townsville without damaging any of his properties!" Mojo protested when he realized the implications of his boys' condition.

"Well, that's your problem," Butch said.

With that, they left the building and went home.

"Curse you boys!" Mojo shouted shaking his fist at the retreating figures of the boys. "I disown you, I refuse to acknowledge you as my sons, I deny you were created by me! Traitors! Betrayers! Judases! Yes, join the good guys and be sissies, you morons!"

* * *

Meanwhile…

The Powerpuff Girls arrived downtown to stop Mojo Jojo. However, all they saw was the empty Robo Jojo, still looking impressive despite the broken window, but without an operator, quite useless.

"Where's Mojo?" asked Blossom.

"I don't know," Buttercup said.

"Mister, did you know what happened?" asked Bubbles.

"Oh yes, it was those Rowdyruffs I think. Mojo's making a boring speech and them boys just broke through and took Mojo away to God knows where," he said.

"Now why would those jerks do a thing like that?" asked Blossom. "Anyway, Bubbles, you check the volcano top observatory for clues, Buttercup, you help the people here and I'll go to the police station to find out if a certain monkey was turned in. We'll meet back here afterwards."

Although Buttercup grumbled a bit, they all did as Blossom ordered.

Bubbles soon reached the volcano-top observatory. She decided to be extra careful so she quickly landed on the outside and peered at the windows. There she saw Mojo Jojo in a chair talking to the Rowdyruff Boys.

"Boys, now that we're together, we can take over Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," Bubbles heard Mojo Jojo say.

"Of course, we'll go back to you and together, we can rule all of Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," she heard Brick say.

"Oh no! Townsville is in big trouble," she said to herself as soon as she heard those words. She then quickly flew to warn her sisters, in fact so quickly that she didn't hear the rest of the conversation.

When she returned, she saw Buttercup tearing the 'new and improved' Robo Jojo apart.

"Buttercup, where's Blossom?" asked a panicky Bubbles. She was started shaking Buttercup.

"What's gotten into you, Bubbles?" she said as she removed herself from Bubbles' grip. "How should I know?"

"I'm here, Bubbles, and Mojo isn't in jail," Blossom said as she arrived.

"That's because the boys are in Mojo's lair and I heard them say that they are planning to rule Townsville and destroy us!" Bubbles said hysterically.

Blossom suddenly smirked. "So that's what they were planning all along. We should have earlier realized that it was Mojo Jojo who's behind all this! Dang it, it was so obvious!" Blossom asserted.

"Yeah, we forgot that it was Mojo who created those boys in the first place, and it is certainly him who recreated them," Buttercup asserted.

"And those act of heroism were just to throw us and the public off," Blossom concluded. "This day's attack of Mojo was just a charade to fool us. Clever monkey! Evil, but clever! But not as clever as me!"

"So what do we do now?" asked Bubbles.

"We complete the last part of our training today, and tomorrow, we attack," Blossom said.

"All right," Buttercup said, swinging her fists in the air. "They'll be so surprised when we kick their butts! They won't even know what hit 'em!"

* * *

It was August 17…

The girls were flying towards the volcano top observatory.

"I was just thinking, why are we going to turn Mojo in? They're just planning it. You can't arrest a person for something that they are only planning. Shouldn't we wait for them to make the first move?" Bubbles asked.

"We can't risk it Bubbles. We have to nip it in the bud. Besides, we'll just turn Mojo in for attacking Townsville yesterday, _after_ we give him a severe beating for seeking those boys after us," Blossom said. "Besides, we'll get a full confession from the boys and Mojo by 'persuading' them to come to terms with us. And all of this would justify what we'll be doing today."

"Who cares about formalities? All I want is to thrash them, especially those boys," Buttercup asserted.

Soon, they reached the volcano top observatory and saw Mojo asleep in his chair with a newspaper covering his face.

Buttercup immediately lunged for Mojo Jojo. She kicked him in the head, breaking his head cover. It woke Mojo.

"What is the meaning of this?" he ranted as Bubbles made an angry barrage of punches and kicks to genius of a monkey. Soon, Blossom joined her and Buttercup and all three thrashed Mojo. Not content with that, they repeatedly laser-eyed him.

"Take that, and this, and that, you monkey you, take that! Think you can take over Townsville, ha?" Buttercup said as she kicked him in the stomach.

They beat Mojo up to a bloody pulp. It seemed that all their frustrations for the past weeks they took out on poor Mojo. Mojo was not even given a chance to explain. Not that he could after a couple of punches to his jaw rendered him temporarily incapable of coherent speech.

Soon after, they brought Mojo to the police station, where he was booked.

"He won't make any trouble now that he's all locked up," Blossom said. "Now, to search for the rest of the Jojo Family."

"What if we just wait around for the boys in the observatory? Surely, they must come back there, because that's their home?" suggested Bubbles.

"For once you're using your head Bubbles," Buttercup said. "Come on!"

Soon, the three arrived at Mojo's place. Since they only thrashed Mojo and not his place, they amused themselves with Mojo's various things.

* * *

Several hours later…

"What time are those boys coming?" Bubbles complained. "It's getting boring."

"Yeah. Why don't we just look for them?" Buttercup suggested as she continued her video game with Bubbles.

"Let's go home and eat lunch. I'm kinda hungry. We'll look for them after lunch," Blossom suggested. Since the three are all hungry, they agreed.

* * *

After lunch…

"Where could those boys be?" wondered Blossom.

"We've been searching for two hours, and still no Rowdyruff Boys!" Buttercup complained.

"Hey what's that?" Bubbles pointed to the west, over the Forest at the edge of Townsville. She saw faint streaks of red, blue and green.

Blossom and Buttercup took a look, and grinned.

"Girls, I think we just found our quarry!" Blossom announced.

* * *

In the meantime…

The Rowdyruff Boys were playing over the forest of their adoptive father. It was quiet in the city, surprisingly, with no crime being committed, and with Dr. Edwards at work, they were left alone to play. Since they were forbidden to go to their father's lab, they decided to play outside.

They were playing volleyball in the air, using a 100 pound iron ball with an imaginary net.

Soon, they saw three streaks, one pink, blue and green, quickly heading towards them.

The second fight had begun…


	7. The Second Clash: Tactics

**Allies and Rivals**

To Hairy Gregory, well, it (the empty space at the bottom) was a mistake. I'm very sorry about the extra space at the bottom. Anyway, I hope you like this. I was planning on placing the entire fight in one chapter, but it was too long, so I divided it into two. Any, you should have a review award, for it seemed every story here has a review from you. Well, keep it up! And thanks for finding time for my story.

Anyway, you should read two stories that you seemed you did not review, mainly the Gauntlet Series by Cap'n Chryssalid. Trust me, it's one of the best stories that I've ever read. Don't forget the Powerpuff League by Crystal Fenix. It's a good fic too.

To Ud the Imp. I'm very sorry about the extra space. I hope this chapter will correct it, but if it doesn't, then sorry again. But thanks for reading my story.

To firehottie, thanks for reading it. I hope you like this chapter.

To TJ Rose, well, thanks for reviewing almost everyone of my chapters. Believe me, it means a lot to me.

To FireStarter10388, thanks. And yeah, about Bubbles and Boomer, I agree, given their personalities, those two have the greatest chance of becoming friends, but whether or not they will be, I won't tell. You'll just have to read the rest.

To Uncle Sam, thanks. And I agree, that was a big mistake of Bubbles. Thanks for reviewing from the beginning.

Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**The Second Clash: Tactics**

The City of Townsville, and in the forest at the edge Townsville, another fight between the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys was about to begin.

The boys were able to see the girls coming, although they didn't have time to react as Blossom punched Brick hard in the stomach, causing him to be thrown backward while spinning. Buttercup kicked Butch in the stomach too and sent him reeling backwards, while Bubbles used her head to ram Boomer in the tummy, also sending him reeling back.

"When did they become so strong and fast?" Boomer whined as he righted himself up in the air.

"Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" Blossom said. "And don't bother with the stances boys, we can take you on even at your strongest!"

"Hey, what's the big idea attacking us!" Brick complained.

"Yeah, we didn't do anything," Boomer complained.

"Don't play innocent! I heard you and Mojo talk about taking over Townsville," Bubbles asserted.

"Yes, all the while you pretend to be good, but the truth is, you're nothing more than mere phonies," Buttercup said. "You're just another Major Man!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Boomer said. "Brick, these girls have been staying under the sun for too long. They're nuts!"

"Nutty as a fruitcake," Brick seconded. "Girls, when you're done hallucinating, you could—"

"Of course we would take over Townsville with Mojo," Butch suddenly said, drawing the stares of his brothers. "But we would destroy you first."

"What the heck are you talking about, Butch, we didn't—" Brick protested.

"Brick, we shouldn't hide it. It's too obvious. The girls are so smart they figured it out," Butch said. He then, unnoticed by the girls, winked at both his brothers.

Brick decided to go along. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Butch. Because if you don't, I'm going to kick your Gluteus Maximus several times over,' he thought. "Well, since it's out in the open, we might as well admit it, we're going to take over Townsville with Mojo Jojo, and there's nothing you could do about it!"

Boomer was still confused by his brothers' actions but decided to play along, trusting his brothers' instincts. 'I have a bad feeling about this,' he thought. "Yeah, we were just doing the stuff, you know about being heroes and stuff, to hide our true intentions."

"Well, it's nice of you to come clean, but fortunately, your mastermind is unavailable," Blossom confidently said, smirking and never taking her eyes off Brick.

"Mojo's in jail? Well, we'll just have to bust him out," Butch asserted.

"You'll have to go through us first," Bubbles replied, frowning, "you big bully you!"

"These girls are asking for it!" Butch said.

"So as I said before, why don't we serve it up," Brick said with a smirk. "Let's play with them before finishing them off. Attack at SGAF stance!"

The three boys attacked the girls, lowering their fighting level to the previous level that they have fought the girls at their level. They were expecting the girls to be much weaker, dismissing the first punches as flukes due to them being surprised. They were wrong. And they were surprised. Extremely surprised.

Butch attacked Buttercup head on. He punched left and right, but Buttercup suddenly became faster. None of his punches hit her. He then flew up in the sky, then with full force fell on Buttercup with his feet hitting her head. Buttercup tilted her head slightly and the kick was deflected.

"Well, since you're so slow, I'll pick up the pace," Buttercup said as she grabbed Butch's feet and spun him. "Take this for making me ache for hours on end," she then threw her into the mountain, slamming him hard against the hard surface.

"Why you little…you'll pay for that!" Butch shouted. The arrogant smirk was gone, to be replaced by an angry frown. 'How did she get so strong? No matter, I'll finish her yet,' he thought. He took a boulder as large as a ten-wheeler truck that was detached as a result of his collision, and threw it as hard as his fighting stance would permit. Buttercup just stood there and waited for the rock to collide.

'That's it, stupid, let that boulder hit you and cry!'

But she didn't cry, in fact she didn't even flinch when the boulder hit her. She just stood there, crossing her arms as if nothing had hit her. "Is that the best you can do?" Buttercup arrogantly asked.

"In fact, it's not!" Butch said as he launched an all-out assault that his stance would permit him. He attempted a kick, and Buttercup effortlessly dodged it. He tried laser-eyes, he missed her the first time, the second it didn't, but aside from a few embers, she didn't have a scratch.

"Give it up, green boy, you'll never beat me," Buttercup mocked, and began a merciless assault. She began a barrage of kicks and punches that hit every target with deadly force and accuracy. Of course, Butch wasn't defending with his true strength yet, so it wasn't as painful as it should be, but irritating enough to throw him off balance and anger him.

Buttercup finished by throwing him to the forest below. Butch hit a rock, and he stayed in the ground trying to get his senses right.

'Now to finish him off,' Buttercup thought as she grabbed a tree, used her eyes and strength to sharpen its tip, and threw it at Butch, intending to impale him.

Butch saw the stake but it was too late. It crashed into his body—

—and its sharp tip broke into many pieces on contact with his skin. It was only wood after all and he was the toughest Rowdyruff. It nevertheless ruined his shirt.

"Hey, you ruined my shirt!" Butch said at the hole the size of a penny on his shirt, the point where the stake collided with his body. "You'll pay for that!" Butch's body was bruised several places. But he still stood proudly and defiantly. Several trees around him were uprooted.

"When I'm finished with you, your shirt will be the least of your worries," Buttercup replied. However, she was apprehensive when she saw the stake shatter. 'Geez Louise he's tough. How can anybody survive being impaled, let alone crack a stake when an attempt was made? He should have been skewered, well unless you're a Powerpuff that is. Well, I'm tougher so there isn't anything to worry about,' she thought. She then dove towards him, arms forward. Butch then soared towards his green adversary.

They crashed mid-air, and Butch fell to the ground again. Buttercup stopped after sending her adversary down again. The toughest powerpuff just stood there and watched her counterpart fall.

"Brick this isn't working," Boomer shouted. "Let's change stance to Double A."

"Yeah Brick. They're much stronger than before. We'll get creamed if we don't do it," Butch added. 'Good thing we didn't start off at HB Stand.'

* * *

Meanwhile…

Boomer attacked Bubbles. Bubbles was just waiting for the blond ruff to attack, and when he was close enough, she grabbed his head. Boomer was too surprised to react. Bubbles then planted a big wet one on his lips. She then released Boomer to see his reaction.

Boomer then began spitting. "I have cooties! I have cooties!" he panicked and began running around like he was crazy. He went to the lake, and drank some water, gargled, and spit it. Not content, he got some pebbles, put it into his mouth, gargled some more, and spit it all out. "Get it out! Get it out! Get it out! I'm gonna explode! I'm gonna explode! Oh no, this is the end!" he flew above the lake and pulling his hair.

Bubbles was laughing so hard at her counterpart that she fell to the ground and clutched her stomach in pain. "This is too much, can't breathe! You're so funny, Boomer!"

He then dived in the lake, stayed there for as long as he can hold his breath, and rose to the surface, and dived again. He then rose again, wiped his mouth so much that it was almost torn off his mouth, then waited for the inevitable destruction. He waited… and waited…and waited…and he didn't explode.

"Hey, I didn't explode! That kissing doesn't work for us anymore," Boomer exclaimed, regaining his confidence. "But yuck, I have cooties. I have cooties," he said in near panic. But it quickly turned to anger. "But you'll pay for what you did."

Bubbles was still on the ground, rolling in laughter.

"Stop laughing!" Boomer said as he flew towards Bubbles was laughing, and kicked her as hard as he could. She was thrown into a boulder, and that stopped her laughter.

"You big bully," she said. "But can I help it, you were so funny, you know, flying all around, pulling your hair, eating stones—"

"Alright already, I get your point," Boomer protested, his face red with embarrassment. Lucky for him, both of his brothers and Bubbles' sisters were too busy fighting each other to notice his actions.

'Too bad the girls are too busy fighting to see this, oh well, I'll just tell them about it later.' "And to think that our secret weapon doesn't work anymore," Bubbles said.

Boomer then attacked as hard as his SGAF stance would permit.

And his barrage of kicks and punches didn't land a single hit. Bubbles was too fast and she nimbly dodged them all. 'How did she get so fast in just over a week? Last time we fought, we were even at SGAF, and now, it's me who can't keep up with her.' "Bubbles," asked Boomer as he attempted another punch at his blonde counterpart.

"Yes," she answered politely.

"Are you fighting at full strength, or are you just playing?" Boomer asked.

"Of course I'm fighting at full strength. We never play at fighting, and we always fight at our best," Bubbles said as she dodged another kick and another punch to her left.

"Now it's my turn," she said as she quickly elbowed Boomer in the neck, sending him crashing into the forest, uprooting not a few trees in the process.

He rose from the ground and Bubbles laser-eyed her, sending him back to the ground. He then rose again and Bubbles used her sonic voice to throw him down again. "Two can play at that game," Boomer said as he used his own sonic voice. "Sonic Boom," he said, as he shouted at levels permissible under SGAF. Unlike Bubbles' soprano voice when using her weapon, Boomer was low and bass, but still as deadly. It was not at full force however, so Bubbles was only thrown a few feet off. Holding her ears, she retaliated by another Sonic Voice, completely drowning out the Sonic Boom in the process. The force of the voice deepened the crater and irritated him. After the sonic voice, he charged, and was met with a kick by Bubbles. He then was again thrown to the ground.

"Brick this isn't working," Boomer said. "Let's change stance to Double A."

"Yeah Brick. They're much stronger than before. We'll get creamed if we don't do it," Butch added.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Brick attacked Blossom. Brick first began kicking, expecting about half of it to get through. So Brick was definitely surprised to find that he was not keeping up with Blossom's movements.

'How could she be so fast,' Brick said to himself. He then somehow managed to punch her in the stomach, but it didn't faze her a bit. And it seemed that Blossom deliberately let herself be hit. 'And much stronger too. Less than two weeks ago, a hit like that would send her reeling back, but this didn't even make her flinch,' he thought.

As if she was reading her mind, she said, "Wondering why we're so fast and strong all of a sudden? If you're smart, I'll change your fighting stance to Aggressive Attack from Stand Ground and Fight. This fight is so boring. You're not even an eight of a challenge the way you were more than a week ago," Blossom mockingly said.

"Hey, how did you know the meaning of the stances?" asked Brick.

"Oh please, it's so obvious. And I have my methods," Blossom said.

"Well, it won't help you," Brick said as he iced-breathed Blossom. Blossom was caught in it, but in just a second, she broke through it, not even shivering.

"You call that an ice breathe? Now this is ice breathe," Blossom said as she ice breathed Brick. Soon, Brick was covered in a block of ice, and fell to the ground. Brick broke through the ice soon after, but was shivering. Seconds later, he was hit by laser eyes. He was angry.

'How could they have gotten much stronger in just over one week?' he asked himself. 'Well, that doesn't matter now.' He then launched another attack.

Blossom just waited for Brick, then sidestepped and grabbed Brick from behind. She wrapped her arms under his shoulder so that his arms were dangling in the sides. He finished it by wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Remember this?" Blossom said.

"Take your filthy hands off me!" Brick shouted.

"Well, unless you surrender and kneel and beg our forgiveness, maybe, just maybe I'll consider," Blossom said as she tightened her grip. Brick wiggled, trying to get free, but to no avail. Unless he changed his stance, then he would be stuck.

Blossom then laser-eyed Brick repeatedly in the back of the head. Brick could only scream. After several laser attacks, Blossom judged him weak enough and threw him in the air. She then kicked him towards the lake. Soon, he was underwater.

Brick emerged from the lake, dripping.

'Okay, one more,' he thought as he charged Blossom. Blossom dodged to the right to avoid his ramming head, but Brick anticipated it and swerved towards Blossom. Seconds before his head would have collided with Blossom's side, she disappeared and appeared above Brick and laser-eyed him. Soon, he was falling again to the lake. He righted himself up just before he plunged into the blue.

He then looked at Blossom high above. He smirked, and made a huge iceberg using his ice-breath, and flung it as hard as he could at Blossom. 'That's too big to dodge,' Brick thought, 'and even she wouldn't be able to take it.'

Blossom made no attempt to dodge it. Instead, she quickly made another iceberg, smaller than the iceberg Brick threw at her, and threw it as hard as she could at the iceberg Brick threw at her. The two icebergs collided, causing the larger one to explode into a million pieces, causing the forest to be covered with ice. The smaller one was reduced in size, but even after colliding, the core continued on towards Brick, and hit him square in the face. It broke into a million pieces, but the impact was such that it made Brick dizzy.

Before he could recover, Blossom was on him. She balled her fists, and slammed it at his head, and he fell to the ground, though not quite unconscious. She then took his hand, and flew him to the mountain. She repeatedly slammed him on the mountain, cracking its side. She then threw him to the air, got a big boulder, and threw it at Brick. It slammed on impact.

However, Brick was not down. In fact, he didn't even fall. When all the dust settled down, he looked down at Blossom defiantly. His face was bruised, his lip was cut, his clothes were torn at several places. He straightened his cap, smirked, and folded his arms.

"I got to give it you, Miss Utonium, you did get stronger than before," Brick said. Suddenly, both his brothers yelled at him.

"Brick this isn't working," Boomer said. "Let's change stance to Double A."

"Yeah Brick. They're much stronger than before. We'll get creamed if we don't do it," Butch added.

"I think it's time to find out how much they've really improved," Brick replied. "Change stance to Double A."

"Now that's more like it," Butch beamed.

"Yeah, let's show those girls what us guys are really made of!"

Butch attacked Buttercup, quickening his speed, and catching Buttercup off guard. Charging from the ground, one hand forward with a clenched fist, he struck Buttercup at the stomach, throwing her off balance. Buttercup, dazed, quickly recovered and kicked Butch in the face. Butch was slightly thrown back, but flipped and kicked Buttercup in the back. Buttercup fell but flew before she hit the ground and laser-eyed Butch.

Though outside an example of ferocity, inside, he was confused. 'How could she keep up with me? I'm much stronger than her, if the last fight was any indication. So why am I not wiping the floor with her right now? I just need to put more effort into it.'

And he did put more effort into it, in fact, he fought to his maximum speed and strength.

Buttercup followed up her laser-eye attack by gathering another large rock and throwing it at Butch. She then followed behind the boulder.

Butch saw the boulder coming at him. 'What does she think of me, stupid?' he thought in contempt. He waited proudly for the boulder and smashed it with one punch. He didn't see Buttercup immediately because of all the rubble, and she went right at Butch. Soon, Butch was subjected to a left, a right, a couple of kicks, some laser eye attacks, and another kick. Butch was psychologically thrown off, but he didn't show it outside. Soon, anger became the dominant emotion consuming him. 'Why am I loosing to her? It can't be! No, I won't let it, I am stronger to her and I won't loose to a sissy like her.' The thought gave Butch much needed confidence and he quickly counter-attacked. He gave Buttercup as good as he received from her, but not much more. In fact, the fight was so even that neither got much, or any, advantage. Both were fighting at full strength and speed. Butch and Buttercup had underestimated the strength and speed of each other.

* * *

For Boomer, the psychological effect was the opposite.

'Oh no, they're much stronger than before! I'll bet that they'll wipe me on the floor even if I fight at full strength!' he thought, though he showed nothing on the outside. He was thought by Brick never to show weakness to an opponent during a fight, and always show your strength. 'Alright, Brick, you told me never to show that you're afraid, even if you are, because your opponent will take advantage over it. Unless of course it is deliberate to fool your enemy into thinking you are much weaker than you really are, like we did the last time.'

Bubbles was examining her opponent. 'Oh boy, he's now fighting at full strength. I bet I'll get beaten up just like last time,' she thought, shuddering at the memory. 'And look at him, he's so tough.' And for two whole minutes, they just stared at each other, with the mistaken belief that they're much weaker than the other.

'Heck! I might as well fight than stare all day, even if I'll just get creamed,' Boomer thought, and attacked. He aimed a kick at Bubbles' head, and to his surprise, it connected. Bubbles was thrown to the side, while Boomer chased her and laser-eyed her.

Bubbles' worst fears were just confirmed. 'Oh no, I'm done for! Oh well, but if I'm going down, it won't be without a fight,' she thought. She righted herself up after being laser-eyed, and laser-eyed him in return. To Bubbles pleasant surprise, it hit, and she began kicking Boomer.

Both combatants had their confidence up, and a fierce fight ensued.

'So Bubbles is not much stronger than I am,' Boomer thought.

'So I'm not weaker that much anymore,' Bubbles thought.

Boomer slammed his fist at Bubbles' head. Bubbles fell, but retaliated by kicking his back. Boomer screamed, and kneed her in the gut. Bubbles slumped over, but she used that to her advantage by ramming Boomer's tummy with her head. The blue ruff then took her hand and threw her to the ground, but before she landed, she righted herself up and shouted at Boomer, but it was not really a shout. It was her Sonic Voice.

"Oh yeah? Two can play at that game! Sonic Boom!"

And the two giant voice attacks clashed, and neither gave way. Both were straining to gain advantage, ignoring the pain in their ears, hoping for the other to give out before he/she did. But after two minutes, both ran out of breath, and stopped.

They caught their breath, stared at each other for a few moments, and charged towards each other.

* * *

Brick and Blossom, unlike their siblings, didn't commit the same mistakes.

'They were definitely stronger,' Brick said as soon as he gave the order to change stances. 'Now the question is how strong. They couldn't have overtaken us in strength in a little more than one week, unless…'

'So he's fighting at his full strength now? I better watch my back,' she thought, remembering their last fights. 'I don't know if more than one week of intense training is enough, but I can only hope. The fate of Townsville is hanging by the balance. We can't lose. If we do, then Mojo Jojo will take over Townsville with these guys.'

Blossom made the first move. She lunged at Brick, but Brick swerved back then laser-eyed her. He then followed it up by punching her hard in the stomach. Blossom drew back and kicked Brick in the face. She threw him towards the ground.

Brick halted just as he was about to hit the tops of the trees. 'Looks like we're about even. I don't know how they caught up with us in just over a week, but they did,' he thought. 'I think I'll use a different tactic.'

"Hey Leader girl, let's how good a seeker you are! Catch me if you can, that is, if you can find me!" Brick shouted, and at once flew down at the forest and disappeared among the vegetation.

'What is he doing? Why is he running away when it's obvious I don't have any overwhelming advantage over him? That training wasn't enough to be stronger than them, that's for sure, but at least, they don't have any advantage. So if I know him, and I don't, he's planning something. But what? Well, there's only one way to find out,' she thought.

"Brick, you can run, but you can't hide!" Blossom shouted. She then looked at the forest and saw no sign of Brick, 'Well you can hide,' Blossom thought. She then descended just above the canopy of trees, straining her eyes to look for Brick. Suddenly, a laser-eye attacked emerged from below and hit her. When Blossom recovered, she looked down and saw nothing.

Blossom continued scanning just above the canopy, straining her eyes just to look for Brick under the brush. Suddenly, a boy zoomed in from above, punched her in the jaw, and then disappeared again in the forest.

By this time, Blossom was getting peeved. She then began using X-ray vision to locate Brick. She saw some squirrels, some deer, some wolves, but no Brick.

Suddenly, the red ruff rose from the forest, kicked her in the head, stuck out his tongue at her, and before she could retaliated, disappeared again in the forest. Those attacks didn't do serious damage, but it did annoy her.

"That's it!" she shouted. She then descended to the forest floor and began to look for the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys.

He again disappeared. A minute later he emerged from one of the bushes, struck Blossom in the face, then attempted to hide.

"Oh no you don't," Blossom said, quickly recovering. "You're not going to get away that easy." She quickly took off to where she saw Brick go.

Brick saw that he was being followed by Blossom. 'Heck, enough of this hiding', he thought. "Hey Blossom, catch me if you can!" he taunted, before running off at full speed at the forest floor.

"Run! Run like the coward that you are, but you won't get away from me!" Blossom shouted, and began chasing him.

They chased each other through the forest floor, on top of the lake (they flew), and through the other side of the lake. They were so even in speed that Brick wasn't able to leave Blossom in the dust and Blossom wasn't able to catch Brick. They looked more like kids playing tag than supposedly fighting for Townsville's future.

Brick suddenly swerved and run right for Blossom. But before they collided, he again swerved and run past Blossom.

'Hm, that Brick's going on a curved path. I'll just cut him off,' she thought as she reversed the direction of her run. She at first followed him in the top of the lake, but quickly changed direction.

Soon, Brick was in the forest, still running in a curved path. 'Guess I'm too fast for her,' Brick thought. Suddenly, from his side, Blossom shoulder slammed him in the side, throwing him violently to the side. His momentum caused several trees to be uprooted as he crashed into tree after tree after tree. 'Where did she come from?' he thought in surprise. 'Of course, I was going in a curve, and she just went straight.'

Blossom followed him and as soon as he landed, he iced him. Brick was soon frozen in a block of ice. Blossom then laser-eyed him. It melted the ice but as soon as it was melted, zapped him. Brick was extremely angry at this point, and struck her in the face. Blossom fell, as Brick froze her. He then kicked him high in the air then laser-eyed her. Blossom quickly recovered and attacked Brick.

And so, the next two hours were nothing but a series of fights between the two sets of kids with equal strength, power and speed. Nobody gained any advantage, and they were soon exhausted.

* * *

Two hours into the fight…

"Let's call five-minute truce," Brick suggested, panting and wiping the sweat off his brow. "I'm bushed, and I'm sure you are too."

"Am not, you're just…actually, you do have a point. Why don't we call our siblings and call it off for the next hour instead?" the pink leader suggested.

"Well, okay," Brick agreed. "Now, I have here a stopwatch. I'll time it so that we fight in exactly one hour."

"Agreed," she said to her counterpart. "Buttercup, Bubbles, stop it! We'll rest for one hour, then we fight again!"

"Boomer, Butch, that's enough. We have a one-hour break!"

Their siblings were relieved at the break. All of them were extremely exhausted. Soon, they were on opposite sides of the bank of the lake, enjoying the view, and talking to each other.

"That was the toughest fight I have had so far, tougher than even the last fight with those guys," Buttercup commented. "And I thought that our training was enough. Instead, it only made us equals, however much I hate to admit it."

"I was afraid that our training wasn't enough!" Bubbles said, adding her two cents. "Boy, was I relieved when I found out he wasn't any stronger than I am! Though Buttercup's right about it being the toughest fight. Well, Boomer's kind of nice. If they weren't bent of taking over Townsville and destroying us maybe we six can all be friends?"

"No way! Those boys are evil, however way you look at it," Blossom declared as she stared at the boys at the other end of the bank. "We're even, alright. I just hope that we win before we die from exhaustion. Hey, we haven't tried kissing them yet!"

"Actually, I tried, and it didn't work," Bubbles said.

* * *

The boys were having a card game.

"Man, how did they get so strong?" Butch asked in bewilderment.

"They trained," Brick simply said.

"But we trained for a month, and we got so much stronger than they are," Boomer replied. "But after only a week? How could they get so strong all of a sudden and catch up with us?"

"I have been giving a lot of thought about that," Brick said as he picked a card from the deck. "Remember what Dad said before? When we we're recreated? Well he said something about the girls being much stronger than us that it would be suicide to take them on right away. Well, he's right, the girls got stronger after the very first encounter, and if we didn't train, we'd have our butts kick last week."

"But how could they get so strong?" Butch asked.

"I initially thought that Dad had overestimated the strength of the girls," Brick continued. "After all, we creamed them in the last fight. But our advantage, I realized now, wasn't that great. Sure, we were much stronger, but the difference was nothing compared to the girls total strength and speed and power. The difference gave us an extreme advantage, but it was a small difference still. So it wasn't impossible that they could easily catch up to us in just over a week."

Both of his brothers were just listening, hanging on to his every word.

"Now, I have a plan…"

"Who needs a plan to defeat them? All we need is to punch harder and faster and wham, they'll all be crying like little babies," Butch said.

"Well, if you want to fight until both of you drop, that'll do," Brick replied sarcastically. "Look here, we're even, so no matter how hard you punch, she'll be able to take it and give you a punch just as hard. Now, do you want us to win quickly, or do you want us to fight until you're too old to lift your hands?"

"To win," Butch replied.

"Good. Now do you remember the fighting moves, formations and tactics that I devised when we were training?" Brick asked.

"You mean the fancy movements?" asked Boomer.

"The same one. Now, do you still remember how to do it?"

Both brothers nodded.

"Do you still remember the code names?"

They nodded again.

"Good. Just follow my orders when we start the fight and the battle should be over in no time at all," Brick said.

"How can you be sure it'll work?" Butch challenged.

"I'm not," Brick replied. "But do you have a better plan?"

Butch didn't reply, but just shook his head. "Okay, I'll follow your orders," he finally said.

A few minutes later, Buttercup, and Bubbles were asleep, and so were Boomer and Butch. Blossom and Brick remained awake, counting the seconds before the hour was over, and watching each other in case any made a wrong move.

Soon, the hour was over. Brick and Blossom awakened their respective siblings, and they stared at each other. They stared at each other, and attacked. The second part of the second clash has begun.


	8. The Second Clash: Tarnished Victory

**Allies and Rivals**

To Hairy Gregory, I hope that the story answers some of your questions. If not, feel free to ask and I'll answer them in my next story. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. To TJ Rose and Uncle Sam, thanks for reviewing. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. To DL2400, I hope this is long enough for you. Thanks for taking your time to review my story. To FireStarter10388, thanks. I hope you enjoy this.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**The Second Clash: Tarnished Victory**

The City of Townsville, and at the edge of Townsville forest, the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys resumed their fight.

The six were again clashing, fist against fist, kick against kick, strength against strength. Like before, this had the makings of a stalemate.

Yet changes could be seen. Brick's face was serious, and he no longer taunted Blossom while he fought. His mind was concentrating, and it could be seen in his face. Butch was also concentrating, not on the fight, but on what he hears. He was waiting for Brick's signal to go ahead with their plan. Boomer was also waiting.

Brick dodged his head as Blossom tried to kick it and spun around and put as much distance between him and her red counterpart.

"Butch, execute Plan AW7RT at three zero SS, now!" he ordered.

"Oh yeah! Now you're talking," Butch shouted as he took a punch to the gut and got thrown down, again. '30, 29, 28,' Butch shouted as he fell.

'Ow, 26, 25,' he continued counting down as he stood up. He saw Buttercup heading straight for him. He flew at her head on and at the last minute, swerved to the side then watched Buttercup nearly slam herself on the ground.

'What are they planning to do?' Blossom wondered as she took her chance to exploit the opening Brick gave when he shouted his orders. In one charge, she elbowed Brick as hard as she could. Brick was thrown back. 'I know he's planning something. He isn't as talkative as before, in fact, he's not saying anything at all, nor is he as cocky as before. Those boys are up to something, but what? I better be prepared.'

'15, 14, 13,' Butch mentally counted. 'And now to position her for my attack,' he thought, and flew up in the sky and made some twists, until he finally saw Buttercup right where he wanted her. Buttercup just chased him, and she fell right in their hands.

Brick was also counting. '10, 9, 8. Now to position Blossom between me and Buttercup.' In a series of moves and flips, he dodged the attacks of Blossom, while making none himself. Blossom, like Buttercup, just chased Brick.

'3, 2, 1, 0,' Butch counted. "Now try this on for size!" he shouted, as he put his hands together, and a powerful white laser beam streamed forth from his hands. And it headed straight for Buttercup.

"Oh yeah!" Buttercup replied. "Two can play at this game," and put her hands together and shot a white laser beam towards Butch three seconds before Butch's beam would have hit her. She was able to push his beam towards the center, but had difficulty moving it further. Butch also had difficulty pushing his beam.

'Brick, come on! I don't know if I can't take much more of this,' he thought as he concentrated further.

Soon, it became a matter of who can pump more energy into their beams. Buttercup would pump energy that would temporarily push Butch back, but Butch would pump his own energy and push her back.

* * *

Brick was watching the entire scene. Blossom, who had her back on Butch and Buttercup, was vaguely aware of what was happening. She saw however, Brick not paying any attention to her. She decided to take the opportunity to attack

In a split second, she rammed her elbow into his stomach and he doubled over in pain. She then threw him over to the ground.

Brick was serious. 'Okay, so the plan didn't work. Let's go to back up plan B,' he thought. "Boomer, let's do Plan BW7RT," he shouted to Boomer, "on four five SS."

Boomer just kicked Bubbles in the head. "Okay," he shouted just before Bubbles retaliated by laser-eyeing him. 'Okay, 45, 44, 43,' he began counting mentally as he continued his spar with Bubbles.

Brick flew high and charged right up to Blossom. He was also counting mentally. '42, 41, 40.' Blossom was caught by surprise when Brick's fist connected with her belly, and she was flung high up in the air. Blossom stopped her ascent, and charged towards Brick, seemingly to imitate what Brick did. She stopped a few inches from Brick, however, and froze him. She then chucked him to the ground, made a giant iceball, and threw it at Brick.

Brick hit the ground still frozen, and two seconds later, was hit by the iceball. It crumbled on impact, but it still hurt. He then melted the ice using his laser-eyes. He was shivering when it was all over, but he stood defiantly and still ready for action. He continued to mentally count. '24, 23, 22.'

Boomer was having no better luck with Bubbles. He stepped up his punching speed, hitting her half of the time, missing her the other half. He then backed away. '17, 16, 15,' he continued to count. Bubbles then renewed her offensive, and with a laser eye and a punch in the back of the neck later, he was wallowing in the dirt. But he quickly stood and looked up.

'9, 8, perfect! 6,' he thought as he grinned as he saw Bubbles just where he wanted her. He joined his two hands together.

Brick flew to the sky, and looked up at Blossom. 'Boomer's ready by now. And Blossom is just where I want her to be,' he thought. '2, 1, 0.' Brick then brought his hands together and shot a white laser beam towards his opponent.

Boomer, like Brick, shot a white laser beam towards Bubbles. Bubbles, who was high up in the sky, saw it coming, and dodged.

"Ha! You missed me!" Bubbles shouted.

Blossom also saw the white beam race towards her. She stood in its path for a moment, crossing her arms, and at the last moment, swerved to the side and avoided the blast.

"You couldn't hit the broad side of a ship!" Blossom taunted.

"Who said I was going to hit you?" Brick replied. "Look behind you."

Blossom looked, and was horrified.

"Buttercup! Look out!"

The beam was headed right for Buttercup, who was still engaged in the reverse tug-of-war of laser-beams with Butch.

"Later, Red. Can't you see I'm—"

But it was too late. The beam hit her square in the side, and it weakened her. Butch's beam advanced forward, but Buttercup held on, despite the difficulty.

Seconds later, Boomer's beam hit Buttercup from behind, and Buttercup was weakened to a point that she couldn't hold off Butch's beam any longer. She gave up and Butch's beam came crashing into her. She just screamed.

One beam would hurt her but she could brush it off.

Two beams would weaken her considerably but she would still be awake.

Three beams, however, was just too much and she passed out.

Blossom and Bubbles just looked, too shocked to do anything, before reacting. But instead of attacking Boomer and Brick, who exposed themselves to their attacks as a result of their concentration, they instead went to where Buttercup was. They arrived just in time to catch Buttercup and keep her from hitting the ground, but it was too late.

"Is she…" Bubbles asked, with fear in her voice.

"No Bubbles, she's not dead. She's just out cold," Blossom replied. "She'll wake in a few hours, but I'm afraid she's out of the fight."

"One down, and two to go!" Butch boasted. "Brick, I was wrong. Your plan did work!"

"Of course. It's my plan after all, so it's bound to work!" Brick cockily said.

"You rock Brick!" Boomer said.

Blossom observed the entire scene as Bubbles placed an unconscious Buttercup on the ground. "You!" Blossom pointed at Brick.

"Me?" Brick pointed at himself innocently.

"You did this!" she shouted. "You planned this whole set-up didn't you?"

Brick decided to play along. "Now what makes you think that? If you want to blame someone, blame all of us, after all, we did it together, or better yet, blame yourselves, for being stupid and careless, and because you're the one who started this fight in the first place."

"Don't give me that!" Blossom angrily replied. "I know it's you. You directed all of this, you're the one that gave the orders, you're the one who thought of the plan in the first place. And your brothers just followed your orders! And you want to take over Townsville and destroy us, so we had to strike first!"

"And," she continued, "we're not stupid and careless! You're plan is just so brilliant that we couldn't do anything about it."

"Well Blossom, I never think I would see the day that you would pay me a compliment," Brick said, chuckling.

"I mean," Blossom said when she realized what she said, "No, you're not that brilliant, anyone who had more than an IQ of 5 could've thought that one up, and we just didn't expect such a lame attack from you!"

"So you're saying you're careless because you didn't prepare for such an obvious attack, and you're stupid because you let us get away with it?" Brick replied between chuckles.

"No, I'm not saying that! You're twisting my words and using it against me!"

"Anyway, how did you figure it out?"

"It's obvious. Since you're my male counterpart, and I'm the leader, and I give the orders, and I'm the most brilliant, and I actually use tactics and strategy. Since you share most of my characteristics, then it's obvious that you also are the leader and give the orders, and are the most brilliant, and use strategy and tactics. Though compared to us, you're nothing!" Blossom asserted. "Putting it all together, it's obvious that you are the one who is responsible for this!"

"Will you stop yapping around and let's start fighting?" an impatient Butch suddenly yelled, tired of all the talking between the two.

"So," Brick said, ignoring Blossom's last statement. "Are you going to surrender, or are you going to let us 'persuade' you to come see the light?"

"Never! We'll rather go down fighting than surrender Townsville over to you evil boys!"

"Are you sure?" You know you can't win. I'll admit we are still equals, but with Buttercup down, we have a numerical superiority that I intend to exploit. It's just a matter of time before you and Bubbles join your green sister over there.

"I'm sure!" Blossom said with a very low voice. By this time, Bubbles had flown to Blossom's side and has a very determined look on her face. They knew they faced overwhelming odds now that Buttercup was out of the picture, but they still were very determined not to lose.

"Blossom, what'll we do?" asked Bubbles with a frightened voice.

"Just hang tight Bubbles, I'm thinking of a plan," Blossom replied.

* * *

Brick relayed instructions to his brothers.

"Butch, could you take Bubbles one on one?" asked Brick.

"Yeah. Why?" Butch replied, with an idea of what Brick was planning to do.

"Okay. You'll fight Bubbles and try to keep her busy. If you can knock her out, good. If not, just hold her off. Boomer, you and I will go and double team Blossom. We should be able to make quick work on her two on one. And when she's out, we'll join Butch. Bubbles should not be a problem three on one. Is that clear?"

"As crystal!" Boomer replied.

"Then let's show these powder puffs what we're really all about!" Butch said as the three attacked the Powerpuff Girls. As Brick directed, Butch attacked Bubbles, and Brick and Boomer attacked Blossom.

Butch lunged at Bubbles, expecting an easy fight due to Bubbles' personality and he being the toughest of the boys. He was wrong, however. Bubbles was as spirited in fighting as Buttercup was when it matters the most.

Butch first punched Bubbles in the head, then kicked her in the torso. She was thrown far back, but she regained control and repeatedly kicked Butch in the head. Butch was kinda dizzy as a result. Before he could regain his wits, Bubbles used her Sonic Voice. Butch, having no counter, covered his ears and was thrown back.

After Bubbles run out of breath to use her Sonic Voice, she went after the still dizzy Butch. Butch was unprepared, and his jaw caught Bubbles fist, and he was thrown further back.

He rapidly recovered, and charged Bubbles head on. Bubbles waited until the last minute, then laser-eyed Butch. This annoyed him no end, but he continued his assault and rammed Bubbles in the tummy using his head.

Butch then began a vicious assault on Bubbles. He took her feet, and threw her to the mountain. She slammed into it, but she was able to fly back in the air before Butch caught on to her. She decided right then and there that she could not take on Butch head on because of their different fighting styles. She decided to play a game of tag with him while thinking of some kind of plan.

"Hey slowpoke, catch me if you can!" Bubbles challenged and sped away. Butch accepted the challenge and chased after the light blue puff.

* * *

Meanwhile…

The fight between Blossom and Brick and Boomer was very uneven.

Brick attacked Blossom, punching her in the head. She was hit, and thrown back, but quickly recovered and charged Brick. Before she could reach Brick, however, Boomer kicked her in the side of the head throwing her to the ground. She crashed into the ground, recovered as always, and lunged at Boomer. Before she could get near Boomer, she was laser-eyed by Brick, then frozen by his ice breath. She soon was falling down.

Boomer followed her, never giving her a respite. As soon as she crashed to the ground, he grabbed her hand, and tossed her towards Brick. Brick then hit her, tossing her back to Boomer at the ground. Boomer kicked her back to Brick like they were playing soccer.

By this time, Blossom had melted, and soon halted midway between Brick and Boomer. She was badly bruised, and greatly weakened, but she could still fight. 'This isn't working. Much more of this and we'll lose.'

Just as it seemed all hopeless, Brick gave Blossom the respite she was hoping for.

Brick saw Butch chasing Bubbles and saw that their fight was pretty much stalemated by Bubbles running around and Butch not being able to catch her. He was disgusted and decided to help Butch catch and fight Bubbles.

"Boomer, go and help Butch. He seemed to have trouble with the blue sissy," he said derisively.

"What about Blossom?" asked Boomer.

"Leader girl was weakened by our ganging up on her. She'll soon crack like china," Brick replied. Boomer then went out to help Butch.

'Thank God for this. Bubbles should be fine as long as she runs and flies fast enough. I should be able to handle Brick,' the leader of the powerpuff girls thought, as she readied herself.

Brick first attacked Blossom, punching her in the torso and in the head. Blossom drew back, and counterattacked. Since she was only fighting one opponent, she was able to get some of her punches, kicks, and laser-eye beams through, but since she was greatly weakened by the beating she received from Boomer and Brick, she received far more than she could whip. At this point, Blossom was fighting with one hand tied behind her back. And it showed.

* * *

Bubbles kept running and flying away from Butch. Since Bubbles and Butch were about the same level (with Bubbles having a slight advantage in speed), both made no headway against each other. She dived for the forest, with Butch following closely. As soon as she arrived at the forest, she reversed her direction. Butch was not able to notice the change in direction at first because he still on top of the canopy, and when he did, she already was past him.

Bubbles was racing in the forest when suddenly Boomer appeared in front of her speeding right towards her. They collided, throwing each slightly back. This was what all Butch needed to catch Bubbles. He balled his fist together, and slammed it into Bubbles head. Bubbles hit the dirt, but she quickly recovered and kicked Butch. At this point, Boomer laser-eyed Bubbles from behind, giving time for Butch to slam her again to the ground. Bubbles then lunged at Boomer, but before she could get anywhere near Boomer, Butch grabbed her hand, punch her in the head, and threw her high in the air.

"Well, it looks like you really need help," Boomer teased.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you and Brick supposed to take care of leader girl over there?"

"Well, Brick saw that you needed help in babysitting Baby Blue, since you obviously can't handle that crybaby alone, so he sent me to help you finish the job," Boomer replied.

"You're the one to talk. I was having her for breakfast when you decided to show up and ruin my appetite," Butch whined.

"You must catch your prey first before you can eat her for breakfast. And by the looks of it, you aren't even close," Boomer replied.

"I am too! Nevermind, let's get her!"

"Way ahead of you, Butch, way ahead of you," he said as he flew up.

Bubbles, however, has recovered a little bit because of the respite given by Boomer and Butch's conversation. She was too tired to just run and fly away. Butch just watched his brother. So when she saw Boomer lunged at her, she just sidestepped and with all her might, punched the careless Boomer in the face. Boomer, who was by this time too overconfident, was surprised that not only did the blow connect, but it actually sent him back to the ground.

"Uh…my aching head…" Boomer said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You dodo, what the heck are you doing up there? Dancing?"

"Shut up. Let's just attack her, okay?"

"Okay." Both of them flew at Bubbles. Butch attacked Bubbles, connecting his fist with her jaw. He then kicked her in the head. Bubbles, straining her remaining energy, counterattacked, laser-eyed Butch, but was in turn laser-eyed by Boomer from the side. Butch then punched her again and kicked her, sending her higher up in the air. She was still conscious and able to fight, but was gravely weakened.

Butch and Boomer then flew up to where Bubbles was.

Seeing them, Bubbles then used her sonic voice, and it threw Butch back. Boomer, however, just covered his ears and retaliated with his sonic boom.

Whereas before, they were just equal in power and strength that they would just cancel each other's attack, but Bubbles was much weaker this time. After thirty seconds, Bubbles sonic voice gave out, and was thrown higher in the sky, further weakening her in the process.

* * *

Blossom had been fighting a bit more even battle with Brick, but with her weakened condition, it gave her no consolation. She was fighting a losing battle with Brick, who was by this time stronger. It wasn't that Brick got stronger since the start of the fight. On the contrary, he got weaker, but not as much as Blossom. During the first part of the fight, both leaders lost strength to the each other's blows at the same rate, so they basically remained at the same level, although each second they were weakening. In fact, if they just fought on continuously like that, there would be a stalemate due to exhaustion.

Blossom, however, got such a major beating at the hands of Brick and Boomer during the second part of the battle that when Boomer left to help Butch, Brick had a preponderance of strength over her.

'I've got to think of something fast if I don't want to lose. I'm much weaker than Brick now after he and Boomer gave me that awful beating. I assumed that once we return to one on one, the fight would again be equal. Boy, was I wrong. Hey I got an idea that might actually…'

Before she could finish the thought, she was able to block one of Brick's punches, but not his kick, which was so powerful that it sent her higher in the air.

Soon, both Blossom and Bubbles were standing side by side high up in the air, looking at their more numerous and stronger counterparts.

"Bubbles, let's do the Furious Fiery Feline!"

"Do you think it'll work, I mean with Buttercup out of the picture?"

"Yes it will, only the cat would be much smaller and less powerful, but strong enough just to knock one of them out cold. The confusion of one of their teammates downfall would enable us to repeat the attack and take down another. Then we could take care of the remaining one with ease."

"Okay, Blossom, but who will we target first?"

"Brick. He's the leader and the brains of the outfit. Take him out and the rest would be like sheep without a shepherd."

"Okay, let's do it!"

"Powerpuff Girls!" Blossom shouted as both of them raced up higher and higher into the atmosphere.

"Furious!" Blossom started.

"Fiery!" Bubbles continued.

"Feline!" Blossom finished.

"Hey, they're running away!" Butch exclaimed.

"No they're not," Boomer replied in an amazing show of insight. "They have a plan."

"How do you know that?" asked Brick.

"They wouldn't just leave Buttercup down there," he replied, and pointed his hand at the unconscious green puff.

When they were high enough in the air, the girls made a sharp u-turn. As they approached the boys, their bodies burst into flame and the two moved ever closer to each other, finally merging and transforming into a blazing comet with a cat's face. It was smaller and much less powerful than the original one however, because they were only two, instead of three.

"Stay apart men, it can only hit one of us," Brick ordered as the boys saw what the girls are actually up to. The two did as told.

The flaming comet with a cat's face was seen heading towards Butch. However, with ten seconds remaining, it abruptly changed course and headed straight for Brick.

Brick wasn't aware of this change until it was too late. Luckily, Boomer was much more observant.

He saw the change of direction towards Boomer.

"Brick, watch out," and as fast as he could, knocked Brick out of the way. He wasn't fast enough, however, to avoid the comet himself, and was hit head on. The hit was so powerful that it instantly knocked Boomer out cold. He was lucky. If the girls were complete and at full strength, he probably would have been killed.

"Boomer!" Brick shouted as he saw his brother fall.

"No!" Butch shouted.

The girl's comet disintegrated at contact with Boomer. Boomer had been like a brick wall when they hit him. It was enough to knock him out, but the cat was not powerful enough to maintain its form after the collision. Soon, the girls were thrown in two different directions, Bubbles towards Brick and Butch and Blossom away from the two. The redheaded puff was pleased with their success, and watched as Boomer's limp body crashed into the ground.

Bubbles however, was not so lucky. For Brick and Butch, the first instinct if one of them was hurt was not to assist their fallen brother, but to teach whoever hurt their brother a lesson, and then attend to their brother. Since Bubbles was literally thrown into their laps, their fury descended upon the poor blue clad puff. It happened just seconds after the blond ruff fell that she was totally surprised by their assault on her.

"You'll pay for what you've done with him!" Brick shouted at Bubbles as he froze her with his ice breath. It happened too fast for Bubbles to react, and soon, she was in ice. Butch then slammed her on the ground and threw her high in the air. Then, high up in the air, they both laser-eyed her. Seconds later, they caught up with her and both slammed their fist as hard as they could at Bubbles. She soon was falling to the ground.

They then finished her by hurling themselves at Bubbles back, like meteors, duplicating the attack they made to finish each of their counterparts during the very first fight. They halted just above fifty feet of the ground and just watched Bubbles hit the ground. The canopy of the forest and branches cushioned her fall. Soon, she was lying in the forest floor, defeated, eyes closed. She was still very much alive, only unconscious, but the powerpuff's "the joy and the laughter" was out of the fight for good.

All of this, from Boomer's fall, to Bubbles' fall, only took thirty seconds. What made them so suddenly fast? _It was the sight of their brother falling for the very first time in their lives that fuelled the adrenaline which enabled them to finish Bubbles in thirty seconds._ The girls had so much experience and saw their sisters fall so many times that it hasn't had that much effect on them anymore.

Blossom just happily stared for 20 seconds at Boomer's unconscious form, and talking to herself and Bubbles. 'Now, we only have to repeat it at Butch and the fight is ours.' "Bubbles, let's get ready to…BUBBLES!" she flew towards her sister in panic when she saw the beatings she was receiving at the hands of Brick and Butch.

But she was too late. She had delayed too much and Bubbles was out cold.

Brick and Butch then turned their attention at the remaining Powerpuff.

Interestingly enough, Bubbles fall had quenched their desire for revenge, and they were back in normal mode.

"Now, you're finished. I gave you your chance to surrender, and you refused. Now you have no escape," Brick said in a low and dangerous voice.

"You'll pay for what you did to Boomer," Butch said.

"I've got to hand it to you," ruff leader continued. "You actually caught up with us in terms of power, strength and speed. However, you were pathetic tacticians and strategists. You concentrated your training too much on gaining strength and speed to catch up with us that you totally neglected planning your attacks on us."

"You're wrong. I'm a great tactician. You just got lucky. I've won many battles using my tactics," Blossom defended herself. "Many people will vouch the brilliance of my plans and strategies!"

"You are a great tactician, I'll admit that Blossom," Brick continued. "However, most of your tactics were tailored for giant monsters, robots from Mojo, and criminals with no powers. You didn't have a proper strategy with dealing with three little boys who have just the same amount of power as you three have. The last fight only taught you that you only needed to surpass us in power. And if you actually did, you might have beaten us. But it only levelled our strength. Now, you will reap what you sowed!"

Brick attacked Blossom directly. He landed a couple of punches on her. Blossom also attacked, aiming a punch at Brick's head, but before she could, he was laser-eyed by Butch. Brick then froze Blossom using his ice breath.

After Blossom was in ice, they tossed her in the air.

"Ready?" Brick asked.

"Ready," Butch replied.

Soon, they put their hands together, and from their joined hands, a single powerful white laser beam stream forth from their hands and hit Blossom a second later. Soon, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Rowdyruff Boys had won for the second time.

They won the first time using brute strength. They won the second one with superior tactics.

But their victory was not as great because of Boomer's fall.

Nevertheless, it didn't stop Butch from shouting.

"We won! We won! The Rowdyruff Boys rule!" he shouted.

Brick however just remained silent, his face indicating that he was not at all satisfied with their win.

"Brick, what do we do with them?" asked the toughest rowdyruff, pointing towards the unconscious forms of Buttercup, Boomer, Bubbles and Blossom.

"Take Bubbles and Buttercup, I'll carry Boomer and Blossom. Let's take them to the house."

"Yeah," the green clad boy added. "Dad should be home by now and he should know what to do with the girls."

Soon, they slowly flew towards their suburban home. Butch continued to chatter about their fight while Brick was just silent, not at all listening to his brothers' boasts.

"Butch?" Brick suddenly asked while they flew, breaking his silence.

"Yeah Brick," his brother replied, stopping his talking.

"Why did you lie to them?"

"What do you mean, Brick?"

"You know, when you told the girls we were in cahoots with Mojo to destroy them and take over Townsville afterwards?"

"Well, why should we tell the truth? I mean, it's not our fault they think we were going to take over Townsville. So why should I correct them? Besides, they don't deserve to know the truth about us," Butch replied.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are you crazy?" Brick suddenly shouted at his brother. He was very angry. "Don't you know that from now on, they'll think of us as a danger to Townsville, as a menace that needs to be destroyed? Now they won't rest until they destroy us, because they think that we're evil and, one of these days, we'll take over Townsville!"

"Hey, there isn't anything wrong with that!" Butch defended.

"Oh yeah! Then after these girls heal, they would repeatedly attack us until they destroy us!"

"Then we'll beat them again and again. Besides, you're the one who said that they'll attack us again no matter what we do," Butch replied.

"You don't get it do you? Before, they'll attack us because they want revenge after we beat the snot out of them! But as soon as they realize we're not out to destroy their little town or commit any crime, they tolerate us, even if it is only grudgingly, and they'll stop attacking us. But now, you gave them a reason to just keep on attacking us. We just got lucky out there. If they just blocked our lasers instead of dodging them and letting it hit Buttercup, the fight wouldn't be over and we might lose."

"You made us public enemy number one. You made us no better than the thugs and villains those girls beat up everyday, and how do you think Dad will think of us then?" Brick continued.

"Then if you're so smart, why did you let me tell them such a lie?" his peeved brother replied.

"Because I thought you have some plan or idea, at least something better than what you told me a while ago," the ruff leader replied. "And one should never contradict a comrade in front of his enemy in battle."

"So now you want me to apologize to them and tell them the truth?"

"No, no apologies," Brick asserted. "We're the Rowdyruff Boys! We can't lower our pride by apologizing to those sissies. Remember, we only apologize to each other and to Dad," the red clad boy proudly asserted. "I'd rather them think of us as such than we apologize. Even if you did a very stupid thing by making a very stupid lie, that lie must stand as truth because we can't humiliate ourselves by grovelling to them and saying sorry. But if you didn't tell them that we're accomplices of Mojo, we wouldn't have this problem now, would we?"

For the first time, Brick's pride and arrogance go the better of him and he threw out his common sense.

"Relax!" Butch replied. "All we have to do is avoid doing any crime and help stop the criminals and villains of this city, and some of the monsters, and then they'll see that we're just bluffing when we said that. As they say, 'actions speak louder than words'. When they see that we're not taking over Townsville, they would see the light and they won't bother us anymore. All that without ever apologizing."

"I hope you're right Butch. I hope you're right!"

Unfortunately, for the Rowdyruff Boys, the Powerpuff Girls, and the City of Towsville itself, events in the next few weeks would prove that Brick was right.


	9. The Pride of the Rowdyruffs, the Uncerta...

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

**Chapter 9**

**The Pride of the Rowdyruffs, the Uncertainty of the Powerpuffs**

"What happened?" Dr. Edwards worriedly asked when he saw Brick and Butch enter their home. "What happened to Boomer?" he shouted, clearly panicked.

"Well Dad, we had another fight with those Powder puff sissies," Brick explained while he carefully laid his unconscious brother in the sofa. "We were playing ball, and they just attacked us for no good reason at all!"

"Yeah Dad," Butch added as he lay Bubbles and Buttercup in separate sofas. "As Brick said, we were just playing ball, minding our own business, and suddenly they attacked! They started it!"

"They trained hard so they were as strong and fast as—" Brick continued but was interrupted.

"Never mind that! What happened to Boomer?" Dr. Edwards asked in an impatient manner as his instincts as a doctor took over and he began treating the wounds and bruises of Boomer.

"Well, he got whacked by the cat thingy," Butch replied. "The Fiefy Fairy Feline I think!"

"Oh? Since when did you begin to think? Yesterday? Funny, I never noticed the difference!" Brick teased.

"Hey!"

"Brick, stop teasing your brother. That is not the time for that! Can't you see your brother's condition?" Dr. Edwards scolded. "And what did what to Boomer? Are you telling me a cat did this to him?" Dr. Edwards asked in disbelief as he wrapped bandages on the parts where Boomer was hit.

"It's the Fiery Furious Feline. The girls turned into flames, combined into a meteor like thing that was shaped like a cat, and it hit Boomer," Brick explained, this time in a more subdued tone. "And Dad, will he be alright?"

"He will," their father replied as he made the final touches on fixing Boomer, lessening the worry the boys had for their fallen brother. "It's lucky he's a Rowdyruff, or he might have been killed! He would be up and ready in about a couple of hours."

"How about them?" Butch asked in a derisive tone as he pointed at the Powerpuff Girls.

"I'm still not sure, but knowing them from the last fight, they would recover at the same time as Boomer," Dr. Edwards said as he shifted from treating Boomer to fixing up Blossom. "Brick, would you be so kind as to get some of my medical tools in my office? It's in the third drawer on the left of the big table. It's a big white box with a red cross in it."

"Okay Dad," Brick curtly answered, and in two seconds, was back with the tools.

"Thank you, Brick," Dr. Edwards said as he began applying betadine to some of Blossom's bruises.

"Dad, the fight started when they attacked us and…" Brick began.

"I know you fought well, son, but could you please wait until I finished with all the kids? Look, when I've given the girls to Ms. Keane, and when Boomer wakes up, we could all sit in the sofa and you could tell me what exactly happened."

Of all the three girls, Buttercup's condition was the least worst, because she was only knocked out by three blasts at the same moment, and Bubbles the worst, as a result of the beating she received to the boys' knee-jerk reaction to Boomer's fall. However, as Dr. Edwards said, none was too serious, and the worst thing that could happen was that one of them might wake up with a severe headache.

Dr. Edwards finished patching up all three girls in about an hour. It took another half-hour to patch the wounds and bruises of the victorious Brick and Butch. He, with the boys' help, loaded the girls in stretchers and put them in the back of a vehicle which looked like an ordinary van on the outside but was actually more like an ambulance inside. Boomer was tucked in bed and his brothers watched over him while the Doctor drove towards Ms. Keane's house.

He was deep in thought. 'I wonder what exactly happened? The last time they fought, the boys completely wiped the floor with the girls. Wait a minute, I remember Brick said that the girls trained till they caught up with them! So that's it! Poor Boomer. Though I would have to hand it to the boys. They won even without any advantages in strength and speed. I'm so proud of you all, even you Boomer! You defeated them not once, but twice, and not only by brute force, but by using your brains! But what I don't get is why would the girls just attack my boys for no reason at all? My boys didn't do anything that would warrant their attention. After all, they did stop a bank robbery once. Now why would they want to get back at…Of course, those girls wanted to get back at my boys for beating them up in the first place. Well, if that's the case, I can't blame them, although it wouldn't put them in the right inasmuch as they were the ones who attacked my boys _first_ during that first fight.'

He stepped out of the house, wiped his thick eyeglasses, removed his fedora hat and knocked on the door.

"William, what brings you here?" asked a pleasantly surprised Ms. Keane.

"It's the girls," he said solemn tone. "They were defeated in a fight. I found them already unconscious near my house. That's all I can tell. They are in the back of the van."

Ms. Keane gasped there in shock, before running to the back of the van and taking a look at the girls.

"Girls!" she shouted as she looked at each of the bandaged and unconscious figures.

"Don't worry, they'll be alright. They're no worse than before. I already patched them up so they would recover in two to three hours. Please take them to Professor Utonium," Dr. Edwards asked.

Ms. Keane didn't know if she was to be relieved, or just to worry more. However, her common sense prevailed and she accepted Dr. Edwards' request.

"Of course, William, anything for the girls," Ms. Keane finally said after peeling her eyes off the girls. "Aren't you coming to see John? You know, you haven't seen him since you suddenly appeared?"

"No. I've been busy these past few days and today's no exception. Sorry," William politely replied.

"It's alright. I'm sure John will understand," William replied. If Ms. Keane didn't know any better, she would think that she could detect a sense of sarcasm in the tone, but dismissed it.

A few minutes later, Dr. Edwards and Ms Keane carefully transferred the girls into the back of her car. After carefully strapping them with seatbelts, she drove towards Professor Utonium's house.

* * *

"MY GIRLS! MY BABIES!" Professor Utonium shouted upon seeing her unconscious daughters. He quickly grabbed them and carried them over to their rooms. Ten minutes later, the room was as it was when the girls were first defeated—Full of medical paraphernalia with Prof. Utonium making a series of tests to determine the exact state of health of the girls. And like the very first time, he forgot about Ms. Keane.

"Thank God they're alright. A few hours of rest would totally heal them," he said, more to himself than to Ms. Keane.

"I'm glad they're alright," Ms. Keane said as he gave Prof Utonium a cup of coffee she made while waiting for the Professor to finish fixing up the girls.

"It was close," Professor Utonium said. "If they weren't patched up when they were, then the recovery time will be much longer, probably 24 hours or so. Tell me, Sandra, what happened? Who could have done such a thing?"

"I really don't know. Dr. William Edwards came to my house, and gave me the girls as you saw them—" Ms. Keane began.

"What does he have to do—" Professor Utonium interrupted.

"As I was saying in response to your question before you so rudely interrupted," Ms. Keane replied exasperatedly, "William was the one who patched them up. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I could have sworn by the way you two acted that you were the worst of enemies instead of the best of friends! He said he found them beaten up after losing another fight and patched them up and brought them to my house so I can bring them here!"

Professor Utonium wondered why Dr. Edwards would even consider helping him? 'Why would he help my girls? It's not like they knew each other or something, because he certainly didn't do it for me. Never mind, the important thing is that my girls are alright. Now, what kind of fight did they get into now? I guess I'll just have to wait until the girls woke up to tell me. Wait a minute, I remember something when the girls went out this morning.'

**Flashback**

_"Professor, we've just completed training in the highest level!" Blossom proudly announced._

_"That's good, Blossom," the Professor absentmindedly said as he continued to read the morning paper._

_"Professor, aren't you going to congratulate us?" Buttercup said as he lowered the newspaper so the Professor could see them. "You aren't even listening!"_

_"Huh, what's that again Blossom?" the Professor again as he put down his paper._

_"Professor, we just completed our training!" Blossom again proudly announced. "We're now ready to fight the Rowdyruff Boys!"_

_"Yeah, we'll kick their butts for beating us up the last time," Buttercup said as she punched an imaginary opponent in the air._

_"That's not the main reason, Buttercup. The real reason, the numero uno one is that we need to defeat them to save Townsville from being taken over by Mojo Jojo."_

_"That's right, Bubbles, that's right," the pink puff said. "See you later, Professor! We're off to teach those Rowdyruff's a lesson!"_

_"Are you sure you're ready? I mean can you take them on right now?" the Professor asked. "You know, you didn't have a chance last time you fought."_

_"Of course we can. After all, we beat the highest level possible in your training lab," Buttercup confidently declared._

_"And we can't possibly delay. Who knows when those villains will strike?" Blossom added._

_"Okay, just be careful," the Professor shouted as the girls blasted off to find the boys._

**End Flashback**

'I shouldn't have allowed them to attack those boys this morning. I should have added more levels so they can train harder and become stronger and not get beaten,' the Professor thought.

* * *

A few hours later…

Boomer woke up and found himself in bed. He soon recognized the two figures beside him were his brothers Brick and Butch.

"Hey, Boomer, nice block! Too bad you have to get knocked-out to do it," Butch teased.

Boomer just looked down dejectedly. "I'm sorry I let you guys down. I guess I'm not that great, ha. Please don't tell me you lost, because I'll never forgive myself if that happened," he then sniffed and a few tears came out of his eyes. "I guess you guys are ashamed to have a brother such as myself, who couldn't even hold his own against those girls."

Brick and Butch, who planned on teasing him, just looked at each other guiltily. Brick in particular angrily glared at Butch.

"That's not true, Boomer!" Brick said, trying to make his insecure brother feel better. "You did great! If it weren't for you, I would probably be the one in that bed instead of you! Thanks Boomer!"

"You're just saying that because you're my brother," Boomer said as he sniffed, more tears falling out of his eyes. He didn't wail, but sobbed quietly. "I know you expected much from me, and I'm sorry if I didn't meet it by getting knocked out!"

"Don't cry! If it weren't for you, we would never had won—" Brick began, but was interrupted.

"You guys won?" Boomer asked. "I thought we lost the fight because of me?"

"Are you kidding? Because of you _we_, and that includes you, Boomer, won it! Am I right Butch?" he then glared at his brother.

"Uh yeah, because of you we won," he said it, thought hesitantly. "Though you could have acted less like a baby and let that damned fire cat hit Brick. I'm sure he had a plant to dodge it," he said sarcastically.

"You see," Boomer said. "Even Butch said I suck!"

Brick glared dangerously at his raven haired brother. Butch for some reason flinched at his brother's glare, and didn't say anything stupid after that.

"Don't listen to him. He's just being a jerk. You were great!" Brick encouraged. "And don't you cry! Crying is only for babies and girls, and are you a baby?"

"No," Boomer said, still sniffing?

"What, I can't hear you?" Brick said.

"No!" he said a little louder.

"What, I still can't hear you, baby!"

"NO I AM NOT A BABY, BRICK, AND I AM CERTAINLY NOT A GIRL!" Boomer shouted.

"Then dry your tears and stop crying," his redheaded leader said. "You have no reason to cry or bawl or feel sorry for yourself! Don't be pathetic and have some pride! You are not Bubbles who always turn on the waterworks every chance she got! She maybe your counterpart but we all know that you're better than her!"

"What's going on here? And are you alright Boomer?" Dr. Edwards suddenly said as he appeared at the room.

"Well, Dad, Boomer is crying because he got knocked out, and Butch started teasing him and I decided to pat Boomer in the back, well not pat literally, but I decided to encourage him!" Brick started.

"And Butch was being mean and Brick said I was great and then you suddenly came back and…" Boomer continued, still sniffling.

"Whoa! Not too fast! I want you to tell me everything that ever happened today," Dr. Edwards said.

"Well, it all started when we were playing volleyball with an iron ball, minding our own business, when those three girls attacked us all of a sudden. Why they attacked us I have no idea, but I quickly rallied our defense and we counterattacked!" Brick began.

"Duh, you messed up big time, Brick," Butch said. "You made a mistake with their strength, that's why we were stomped big time in the first part of the fight. You should have dumped those stances and fought to our best! What just happened is we got stomped by the girls because of fighting at SCARF or something, Brick realized that we were getting thrashed and ordered us to fight at Double A."

"It turned out that we are just even. Bubbles kissed me…"

"And Boomer enjoyed it," Brick interjected, then laughed.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" Butch added, then laughed more.

"Boomer, you should have told me you had a fiancé," Dr. Edwards said, joining in the teasing. "Tell me, when is the wedding day?"

"DAD, BRICK, BUTCH, she is not my girlfriend, and I did not enjoy that kiss!" he shouted. He was blushing red, and mightily embarrassed. By this time, he totally forgot that he was crying and the reason for it, and instead, was trying to fend off his brothers' teasing.

"And that blond girl has a thing for you, Boomer. I mean why should she be the only one to kiss any of us?" Brick added, who by this time is rolling in the floor in laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Maybe she kissed me because she wanted to destroy me, like each of the girls did to us in our very very first fight!" Boomer replied indignantly.

"True, but you're the only one any of those girls kissed since we were recreated," Brick replied, still laughing but not as hard.

"And by the way you reacted, screaming, pulling out your hair, dunking yourself in the lake repeatedly, even eating stones, well I would say that is the actions of a love struck fool!?" Butch said.

Boomer shade of red grew even more red, if it was still possible, given the level of his embarrassment. "That's not true!"

Dr. Edwards decided to end his blond son's torment. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Now can we please get back to telling what really happened?"

"Oh yeah," Brick continued. "We have achieved a point of physical and tactical equality with the Powerpuff Girls. We all tried different tactics with them, but it was of no use. Although Butch was right about me underestimating the increase of powers of the girls due to their training, he had no right to criticize me on that point since his underestimation of Buttercup's strength was even greater than my underestimation of Blossom's strength. True, I made a mistake when I ordered my brothers to fight at less than full strength, but I immediately corrected it by telling them to fight at full strength before we got thrashed enough to be weakened. We fought at full strength, but as I already said, we fought with rough parity."

"Yeah, we were beating each other silly and getting nowhere," Butch continued, "that after a couple of hours of it, Brick and Blossom called for a rest for one hour. I, of course, am still full of juice at that point, and am giving Buttercup all I get. BAM, WHAM, I hit her head, kicked her in the belly, laser eyed her, but I didn't want to have all the fun while my brothers are resting, so I let her catch her wind."

"And while we were resting," Boomer continued, "we played a card game. I got a 6 of hearts, an ace of clubs, a 6 of diamonds, a king of clubs and a king of spades in the first deck, while Butch got four 2s and one 3 of hearts, and…"

"Hey, how did you know that was my deck?" Butch asked exasperatedly.

"X-ray vision. Now where was I, oh yes, Brick got…"

"Boomer, never mind the stupid card game, tell Dad what happened next!" Brick shouted.

"Oh yeah," Boomer said, scratching his head. "We figured out that those girls somehow got stronger, and we needed a plan. Anyway, Brick said that we gotta do those fancy moves we did while we were training, with all the counting and stuff, well Butch said it was a stupid idea, but after sleeping and stuff, it worked and Buttercup was out of the fight."

"You're going too fast!" Brick protested. "You haven't even gotten on how I brilliantly conceived a plan and how, thanks to my supervision, it was perfectly executed and lead to our ultimate victory. Anyway, I figured during the break that we're not going to beat them if we continued trying to overpower them one on one. I decided to use a different approach by all of us trying to hit one of them all at once. It would work, the only problem was trying to get one of them without the other two interfering to mess up my plans…"

"Oh who cares how you thought of your plan, Brick?" Butch shouted, interrupting him. "We all know how brilliant your plan is, we don't want to know how you came up with it, because we wouldn't understand it because it would turn out to be some complicated and too complex thing that would leave us hanging with our mouths wide open and unable to understand a single sentence you're saying. All that Dad wants to know is what happened after that!"

"Now, now Butch, that's not how you should talk to your brother, and Brick, Butch has a point. You should focus more on what happened."

"Okay," Brick said. "Anyway, because Butch and Boomer followed my carefully crafted plan to the letter, we were able to knock out Buttercup fairly quickly. We were soon just toying around with Blossom and Bubbles, but they were able to do that fiery comet cat thing and charged at us. At first, it seemed that it is charging straight at Butch, but at the last moment, it changed direction and headed straight for me. I didn't even notice it before Boomer suddenly pushed me out of the way and was knocked out as a result."

Boomer then became sad again as he was again reminded that he was the first and only Rowdyruff to be knocked out in a battle. Soon, he was sniffling and tears were beginning to come out of his eyes again.

Butch looked at Boomer contemptuously. 'Boomer is such a baby! Crying over such trivial things. The only reason Brick is trying to be nice to him is because Boomer saved his butt.'

Brick decided to comfort his brother. "Snap out of it Boomer. You were great before that!"

"Boomer, don't cry. Now, why did you do that?" Dr. Edwards asked, referring to his famous block of the furious fiery feline.

"Well, I saw that it was going to hit Brick, then I thought he is going to be in trouble, so I pushed him out of the way. Trouble is, I didn't get away fast enough, and it was like I was hit by a speeding locomotive with superpowers!" the six-year-old Boomer said, barely containing his tears.

"Boomer, you shouldn't be ashamed of having been knocked out!" his father exclaimed. "You should be _proud_ of what you did. You only did what you thought was right, and what you did was certainly not wrong! You must never be ashamed about anything you do if you think you're right! So don't cry Boomer, because I am proud of you three, and especially you Boomer. Even if you failed, if you did all that you can do, then you can hold your head up. Be strong, and don't shed tears over spilled milk."

"And this goes for you two too!" Dr. Edwards said to Brick and Butch. "One of these days you will fail at one of the things that you'll try. The first failure is always the hardest, I know. Once, you failed, but for now, since you were reborn, you only had successes. I also believe that in the near future, you would definitely succeed in whatever undertaking you would do. But failure in one field or another is inevitable. If not, you are just lucky. But once you did, then you must not let the burden of failure crush you. You must keep your pride in yourself, and only regard that failure as a stepping stone for your eventual success. Learn from your failure and from your mistakes, and eventually, it will only be a footnote in your train of success."

"And always be proud that you're a Rowdyruff. Always be proud that you're an Edwards. Because of that, you are in a better position than most little boys are to start anew in the world. You are the best of the best right now, and you have the potential to be the greatest when you grow up. You are the most powerful beings in the planet. And you will inherit a great wealth so you won't want for anything ever in your lives."

"But don't sit pretty on your pedestal. Always aim to be the best in your class or in whatever endeavor you take. If you're not at the top, then be proud of the future when you'll be on top, proudly looking down on those whom previously you've been looking up to. Don't look up to anyone with awe, instead look up to someone with the aim of tearing him down from his pedestal and taking his place instead. You three must not be content with number two if you know you can have the capacity to be at the top. Never settle for mediocrity, but aim to be the greatest."

"Dad, does that mean that we don't have to apologize to something even if we are wrong?" Butch asked.

"No, Butch, it doesn't mean that. If you've made an honest mistake, or did something deliberately wrong and regretted it, always apologize. It's not good for somebody to be disliked or hated because of the wrong reasons, and it's even worst for you to be disliked for some stupid mistake on your part. If you made an honest mistake, quickly correct it, even if it means apologizing…"

"But what about pride and the whole never admit you're wrong thing?" Brick suddenly asked.

"Pride only works if you believe you're absolutely correct, or if you know that the result will be good. Otherwise, you should swallow it, because otherwise, it would only make a bad situation worse. When you know you're wrong, admit it and apologize and get it over with. Never admit you're wrong only if you believe with your heart that you're right, and they are wrong," Dr. Edwards explained.

"Also, remember this. Never say sorry twice for the same mistake or wrong. You could clarify it, make it clear, but never make it twice," Dr. Edwards continued.

"Why Dad?" Boomer asked.

"Because apologizing once is only to say you're sorry, apologizing twice is only to satisfy the ego of the one whom you're saying sorry to. Remember, when you make a clear apology once, the ball is in his court. It is up to him to forgive you, or to hate you more. After that, you could forget about the whole thing and blame him for anything that went wrong if he didn't accept the apology."

"Yes Dad," the three said.

These are the words the Rowdyruff Boys would never forget for the rest of their lives.

"Okay, now that that's over with," Dr. Edwards asked, "What happened next?"

"I don't really know," Brick said. "The moment I saw Boomer fall, I just lost it. Bubbles was nearer to me so I lashed out at her. When I regained control of myself, Bubbles was already lying on the ground."

"Brick's right, Dad," Butch continued. "The same thing happened to me. Seeing Boomer fall for the first time made me snap and a minute later, Bubbles was out cold. It's weird."

"After that, it wasn't a problem dealing with Blossom," Brick finished.

Dr. Edwards pondered for a moment.

"Okay, get some more rest. All of you, not just Boomer, were beaten up pretty badly by the girls. I'll be in my room if you need me or anything," their brown haired father said. He then left the boys to rest.

Brick and Butch looked at their father guiltily as he left. It is as if he knew what they did, but they knew it was a coincidence.

They knew that they were wrong. But they couldn't bring themselves to apologize or to swallow their pride. They just hoped that their lie wouldn't get out of hand.

* * *

A few minutes later…

Buttercup woke up and groggily shook her head. "What happened?" she said as she tried to remember what happened.

"Oh! Are you alright!" Professor Utonium, who happened to be watching over her, asked worriedly before nearly suffocating her in a tight hug.

"Professor, can't breath!" Buttercup struggled to say.

"Oh sorry," the Professor said as he loosened his hug.

"I'm alright. But what happened? Oh yeah, I remember!"

"Remember what? What exactly happened, Buttercup?" asked the Professor, who was now calmer.

"Well, we were fighting those Rowdyruff Boys AGAIN! I was beating the stuffings out of Butch, and was nearly able to overpower him in a contest of laser beams, when I was hit by Brick and Boomer by their laser beams, and it simply overpowered me!" Buttercup asserted.

"But why didn't your sisters stop those beams?" asked the Professor.

"I don't know about those whiners, but those beams did hit me, and when I see them…by the way Professor, where are those two sissies?"

"Now don't talk like that to your sisters. I'm sure they didn't want you to be hit by those beams. Blossom and Bubbles are now resting…"

"They're out cold too?"

"Yes Buttercup," the Professor replied.

"We lost?" Buttercup wondered. "Figures. Without me, the toughest one, they don't stand a chance!"

"Now let's not be too boastful!" the Professor declared. "Let's wait till your sisters wake up and you three can explain what happened."

Professor Utonium went out of the room to let Buttercup rest more. Buttercup soon fell asleep.

* * *

A few hours later…

Blossom woke up and saw her sisters sleeping to either of her side. She shook her head, wondering what happened, then suddenly remembered everything.

'Oh yeah, I remember now. Those boys thrashed us again. I wonder what went wrong this time?' She then remembered Brick's words which hit her like a boulder.

_"If you want to blame someone…blame yourselves, for being stupid and careless," Brick said._

_"…And," she continued, "we're not stupid and careless! You're plan is just so brilliant that we couldn't do anything about it."_

"…_I mean," Blossom said when she realized what she said, "No, you're not that brilliant, anyone who had more than an IQ of 5 could've thought that one up, and we just didn't expect such a lame attack from you!"_

_"So you're saying you're careless because you didn't prepare for such an obvious attack, and you're stupid because you let us get away with it," Brick replied between chuckles._

_"No, I'm not saying that! You're twisting my words and using it against me!"_

Blossom had to concede something. Brick was a brilliant leader, an equal to her in that department at least. 'Darn it! He's so good! We're not stupid, we just didn't see it coming,' Blossom thought, referring to the blasts which simultaneously hit Buttercup. 'It was so brilliant!' Blossom though.

_"I've got to hand it to you," Brick continued. "You actually caught up with us in terms of strength and speed. However, you were pathetic tacticians and strategists. You concentrated your training too much on gaining strength and speed to catch up with us that you totally neglected planning your attacks on us."_

'He's right. I counted too much on overpowering them that I neglected to make long range plans to fight at our level. And even if that attack failed, it would only produce a stalemate.'

She then observed several things that Brick didn't say.

Brick and his brothers trained better in battle tactics, which was shown by the precise timing in which they did their attack on Buttercup.

Brick has more control over his brothers in the heat of battle. She noticed that Boomer but especially Butch didn't change their stances even if they were being thrashed unless Brick gave the order to do so. 'They didn't even disobey Brick even when he was wrong. They can even carry out his orders perfectly! I can't imagine Buttercup allow herself to be beaten up just to follow my orders. And their cooperation is just great. No wonder we were beaten so handily.'

Then the implications of her words dawned on her. 'Does that mean that he's a better leader than me? No, no, no! Even though he's a good leader, he's no better than me. No sir, he is not a better leader than I am. No, I am better than that jerk! He was only lucky. Butch would sooner or later rebel against his authority, and his plan succeeded purely by luck!' she concluded. 'After Buttercup got knocked out, it was a matter of numerical superiority that decided the fight. And he can't be better than me because he's evil and I'm good, and good is always better than evil!'

However, a new blow to her self-esteem came unexpectedly, or expectedly, depending on one's point of view, from her own sister Buttercup.

Buttercup woke for the second time, this time more refreshed, and without the splitting headache she had when she first woke up. She looked at her side and saw Blossom in a contemplative mood.

"So, what's leader girl thinking? How much she sucks at fights?" she mocked.

"Oh shut up Buttercup," Blossom retorted. "It's like Benedict Arnold calling Jefferson a traitor! You're the one who fell first after all, tough girl! _Look, I'm Buttercup, the tough one, and I was the first one to get knocked out_!" she continued, doing an imitation of Buttercup to get her point across.

"I wouldn't have fallen if you did your job properly, Blossom. I have Butch by the ropes but you had to botch it up and let the two other Rowdyruffs gang up on me!" Buttercup shouted. "_Look, I'm Blossom, and because I'm such a good leader, I let my sister be hit by a beam from somebody I'm suppose to be beating up_! I mean, what kind of a leader are you? Are you so stupid as to let them do that to me? You're supposed to cover them while I finish Butch, but no, you had to sacrifice me to prove the incompetence of your leadership! And you call yourself the smart one. If you have half the brains you claim you have, you would have figured a way to finish the boys early on even if we're at equal strength. Or even if you have still that tiny pea in your head you call a brain, then you would have done all you can to prevent the attack! But what did you do? Instead of attacking Brick while he's attacking me, you had to stare at me so long while I suffer then run after me after I fell, when it was too late. You should've have attacked Brick and ordered Bubbles to take care of Boomer. That way, you could easily stop the attack, or if not, knock one of them out!"

Each of those words cut deeply into Blossom, and bit by bit, her confidence in her leadership abilities lessened. She knew every word of Buttercup was true. However, her pride wouldn't let her give up, and she became more stubborn than ever. "Don't tell me what to do Buttercup! And don't insult my intelligence!" Blossom sternly replied. "You know very well that I'm a better leader than you could ever hope to be, and I'm way smarter than you. And don't blame me for you being knocked out. If you had just followed proper orders, you wouldn't be hit. And if…"

"What proper orders?" Buttercup interrupted. "Tell me, what orders did you shout in that fight that would have helped us? That's so typical of you, Blossom, barking orders when it isn't needed, and forgetting one when it is."

Blossom has no proper answer, but she still refuse to believe her sister. "NO! That's not true, Buttercup," she shouted.

"Wake up Blossom," Buttercup suddenly said.

Blossom suddenly rose from her bed and began shaking Buttercup. "That's not true Buttercup, it's not my fault you fell, I…"

"Whoa, Blossom, calm down!" Buttercup suddenly said. "Whatever it was, it was only a dream."

"A dream?" asked Blossom.

"Yes. I woke up a while ago, then you suddenly started shouting 'NO! That's not true Buttercup!' so I decided to wake you up."

"You mean it was all a dream? A nightmare?"

"It was," Bubbles suddenly said from beside her.

"And you don't blame me for you getting hit by those beams?" Blossom asked.

"Well, no. You're not smart enough to figure it out," she teased.

"Hey," she said, playfully punching Buttercup in the arm.

"Seriously, I'm not, and if you're feeling guilty about it, it's alright," Buttercup comforted her.

"Besides, we have those boys to worry about without us pointing fingers at each other," Bubbles added cheerfully.

"I guess you're right," Blossom said.

"Now, what's going on, oh girls, girls, are you alright," Professor Utonium asked as he give each of the girls a tight, and I mean tight, bearhug. "Oh I'm glad you're okay, I was so worried. What did those bad boys do to my precious little princesses?" He then released them and sat them again on the bed. "Now I want you three to tell me what happened."

So the three girls pretty much told the professor what happened. Except Bubbles, they pretty much inflated their roles in the fight, like the one they did during the time the rescued a naked Mayor. They also belittled the Rowdyruff's achievement. They said things like, 'They were just lucky, or 'We just got careless', 'They're not so smart,' and 'Next time, we'll crush them,' or 'Those boys aren't so tough.' The Professor somehow got the general picture despite the different interpretations of the three girls.

"Professor," Bubbles suddenly said. "How long have we been out!?"

"About four hours," the Professor replied.

"The city! What happened to the city?!" Blossom panicked. "Has those boys taken over the city?"

"Relax!" The Professor said, trying to calm Blossom. "Nothing's happened. The city is alright. Mojo hasn't even escaped from jail." As if to prove his point, he grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV news. There wasn't anything like the disaster the girls expected if the boys won.

"That's strange," Blossom retorted. "Why doesn't the boys attack the city? Why didn't they try to at least take over Townsville? This doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe they aren't so bad after all!" Bubbles cheerfully suggested. "Maybe they aren't evil and they want to join the good side."

Buttercup, Blossom, and Professor Utonium all glared at her with incredulity.

"Or I guess not," the blue puff said.

"Nah, they're just biding their time. They'll just wait for us to be at our weakest, and BLAM, they'll strike!" Buttercup said.

"But aren't we at our weakest when we were out cold?" Blossom suggested. "I mean, they could've just killed or destroyed us when we were unconscious, that would have been more logical, but why didn't they? Also, why didn't they bust Mojo out? We heard them say they'll bust Mojo out and then take over Townsville, but so far, they didn't. And how did we get here? I'm sure the Rowdyruffs wouldn't just give us up to you Professor. They're up to something fishy, and I don't know what it is."

"Well, whatever their reasons, let's be thankful they haven't tried anything drastic," the Professor said with relief. "And it's only four hours. Maybe they're still planning their course of action? And Ms. Keane said it was Dr. Edwards who saw you and patched you up and gave you to her who gave you to me."

"Oh, I guess we owe Dr. Edwards another one," Bubbles said.

"Yeah, we'll have to thank him when we have the chance," Buttercup groggily said.

"Okay girls, I'm going to cook dinner. Now, since all of you seem pretty okay, I'll leave you here. Just call me when you need me."

The Professor then left the girls to their own devices.

"So what do we do now?" asked Buttercup.

"What do you mean?" asked Bubbles.

"I mean, pinhead, what would we do now with the Rowdyruffs?"

"Well Buttercup," Blossom said. "What do you think we should do?"

"Why ask me? You're the leader!" Buttercup replied.

"Well, I just want to know what you would do if you're the leader, or are you admitting that you don't have what it take to be a leader?" Blossom shrewdly replied, baiting her sister.

"Well, if I am the leader, I would immediately attack those boys," Buttercup answered. "They were only lucky the last time!"

"I think we should wait," Blossom said. "We're not at full strength right now, and we would lose if we fought them one on one. And even if we are, we still don't know where to find them. Right now, we still don't know what their weaknesses are. We should let them act first. We'll just respond when they do something and sooner or later, they'll make some mistakes, and when they do, we'll use it to defeat them!"

"But wouldn't that get us killed?" Bubbles asked.

"No. For some strange reason, they don't want us dead. If they did, they had two opportunities to do so. We could lose if we do that, but we won't die. We'll just come back and hit them again and again until we defeat them."

Outside, Blossom was a wall of steel, an example of unbendable will, but inside, she had lost much of her self-esteem as a leader and no longer had absolute confidence in her leadership abilities. The shock of a second defeat and a horrible dream was too much. 'I wonder if good is always meant to win after all?' she pondered as she began contemplating. 'The luck that always follows us when we do battle against evil is no longer with us.'

Outwardly Buttercup was calm and collected, like her usual self, but in truth, she was bitter over the defeat. She wanted to blame Blossom when she woke up, but her leader's nightmare convinced her otherwise. She expected Blossom to be the same bossy arrogant Miss know-it-all self, and she would accuse her of leading them to defeat in order to bring her down by a notch, but her nightmare and her sister's reaction convinced her that she already was taken down a notch.

Only Bubbles was not psychologically affected in any way by the fight. She was too innocent to be.

* * *

Boomer doubted his value and his ability as a Rowdyruff because of what happened. Falling in battle for the first time ever indeed was a very hard load to bear. His father's words comforted him, and convinced him not to cry. But it still troubled him, and would be a source of teasing form Butch.

Butch himself was disappointed of his blond brother. 'He fought well, but why did he do such a stupid thing?' he always thought. 'And why would he cry? He's such a baby. He doesn't have what it takes to be a Rowdyruff!' Another thing that bothered him was the lie he told the girls and his father. 'Brick was right about it, I shouldn't have made that stupid lie! Then we wouldn't have to lie to Dad about it, and Brick would not be forced to lie to cover up my stupid mistake. Dad will be so angry and disappointed with us if he ever finds out. I'm sorry Brick, Dad.' But outside, he couldn't bear to admit the truth, and he couldn't stomach apologizing or correcting his mistake to a Powerpuff.

Brick was perhaps the most worried. Not only did he lie to his father to keep them from apologizing to the girls even after Dr. Edwards perfectly told them it is alright to say sorry, but he covered up Butch's lie. He also perceived that it might destroy their reputations forever. But he had too much pride to admit it to his father. 'Dad is right, but I'll never apologize to the girls. He'll find out sooner or later. And those girls would relentlessly attack us now that they think we're bent on taking over Townsville!' He looked into the sky, and wondered if the future was as bright as the night before.

* * *

**Author Thanks**

**Uncle Sam**, yup, Butch screwed it all, but he isn't the only one. Thanks. **TJ Rose**, thanks. And continue reading, it will get better, I promise. **BubbleBean22**, thanks for the complement. I do try to make the chapter try to stand on their own with all of them being interconnected, I do hope I succeed. To **Hairy Gregory**, yup, it was bad luck but bad planning did their part. And about your other questions, please be patient. It would all be answered in Chapter 10. To **SupersayainkingTommy**, thanks. The reason I did Dr. Edwards is that because almost all the other bring back the RRB was brought back by Mojo Jojo for some evil purpose. As I was trying to do an original a plot as possible to a bring back the RRB, I decided to include him. It may sound weird, but I haven't seen a _many_ fanfics where Mojo didn't recreate the boys. Anyway, glad you like my story. And finally to **UnromanticPoetess**. I'm so glad you decided to take time to read my story. Anyway, here are my comments. It was unrealistic, that first chapter. I guess I haven't developed the plot much during that time, so it was poorly done. Anyway, I hoped I have advanced it enough to make it good. And I didn't know it was a cute scene, but thanks for pointing it out. And you're right. I do have many spelling and grammatical errors. Thanks for pointing it out. As for the moral compass, you'll understand more of it on the RRB as you read more chapters, notably chapter 5. And as their personalities, I try to make them as similar to their PPG counterparts as possible. And I agree, that chapter was too fast. I wanted to go to the fights as soon as possible that I condensed it as much as possible to get it done quickly. I didn't really realize it until you told me, and I decided to add more details in the succeeding chapters than what I did before. I'll probably revise it when I edit it in the future. As on how each boy analyzed the girls fight, I try to keep it in with their personality. Thanks again. Well, yeah, it pretty much shows their happy go-lucky view, though the plan to get Dr. Edwards and Prof. Utonium isn't so happy go-lucky on the part of Blossom. And thanks for reading my story.


	10. Allies, Rivals, or Enemies?

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

**Chapter 10**

**Allies, Rivals or Enemies?**

* * *

The City of Townsville, a bustling metropolis filled with content people. And one of the major places that people always go to was the First National Bank, a fine institution where the people of Townsville deposited their hard-earned money.

It was August 20, three days after the second fight between the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys. The people generally were not aware that a second fight ever took place, and they continued on with their busy lives.

Suddenly, three bank robbers wearing ski masks and armed with machine guns and .38 pistols burst through.

"This is a stick-up. Hands up and no funny business," the middle robber ordered.

A bystander who usually hangs around just outside the First National Bank saw it and quickly spoke to his watch. He quickly pushed a few buttons and soon, the watch was transformed into a communicator. He soon sent a message as soft and as inconspicuous as possible.

"Dr. Edwards, this is Red Rover. The First National Bank is being robbed," he quietly but quickly and clearly said.

"Thanks Hal," Dr. Edwards, who was working in his underground laboratory when Hal called, said. He then pushed a few buttons on his own watch.

"Boys, this is Dad," Dr. Edwards said. "There is a bank robbery in progress on the first National Bank. Proceed to stop the robbery at once!"

Brick was reading a book on Machiavelli on his room when he heard the call from his watch.

"Got it Dad!" he quickly said.

"We're on it!" Boomer, who was watching TV on the living room, said as soon as he heard the message from his own communicator.

"Yeah!" Butch, who was pulling some weights in the weight room, shouted.

Soon, the three boys were heading for the bank. All that, from Hal calling to the boys heading towards the bank, took just over forty seconds.

Back in the bank, one of the employees immediately pressed a red button under his desk.

* * *

Meanwhile in the police station…

"It's your turn, Mack," a fat, lazy, donut eating police officer named Henry Kaczinsci said.

"No, it's your turn," Mack replied.

"Nu-uh, I was the one who checked what the emergency was last time. Now you do it," Kaczinsci replied.

"Oh I'll do it," another officer, John Partelli, said as he went to find out what the buzzing was all about.

"Holy smoke!" shouted Partelli. "The First National Bank is being robbed!" He then ran towards the office of the police commissioner.

Five minutes later, all the available police cars were racing from the police station to the scene of the crime. The Police Commissioner, Alexander Grulp, made one last phone call before getting in a car to join the rest of the police.

"Hello, Mayor," the Commissioner began.

"Oh hi Alex," began the Mayor. "Hey, do you know any cheats on the fairy video game! Darn, it seems I keep killing my own fairy!" he ranted.

"Not now, Mayor," the Commissioner said, rolling his eyes. "The First National Bank is being robbed. I suggest you call the back-up."

"Oh yeah," the Mayor said before he hung-up and continued his video game. "Darn fairy!"

"What is the call about sir," Ms. Bellum, who just arrived, asked.

"About a buck being cubbed," the Mayor replied as he again killed his own fairy in the game.

"I think what he means is that the First National Bank is being robbed," Ms. Bellum suggested.

"Oh yeah, the bank is being robbed," the Mayor finally said, "I'll tell you this game is a rip-off," he shouted as he slammed the PS into the floor, instantly destroying it! "Oh and he said call for back-ups, oh well, I guess he means call the National Guard! Ms. Bellum, get me the governor!"

"Don't you think he meant the Powerpuff Girls?" Ms. Bellum asked with incredulity at the Mayor's idiocy.

"Oh yeah," and he picked up the hotline.

* * *

Meanwhile…

The boys were flying rapidly towards the bank. "Now listen up," Brick said as he began barking orders to his brothers. "I'll go to the front door to block any escape attempts from there. Boomer, you secure the back door, if there are any. Butch will deal with them inside the bank. Now, if any of them try to get away from Butch, me and Boomer will take care of him. Got it?"

"Got it!" Butch enthusiastically replied.

"Got it!" Boomer curtly replied.

They arrived exactly two minutes after leaving their suburban house.

Brick went and waited at the front door. Boomer did as instructed and waited at the back of the building. Butch went through the front door and entered the bank itself.

"Hey, who are you," one of the robbers exclaimed, pointing a Tommy gun at Butch.

"Have you ever seen pain?" asked Butch in an amused tone, giving a sadistic smile as he eyed his prey.

"No!" the robber replied, puzzled by the impudent boy's question.

Butch was small, and on every account looked like a six-year-old kid. He had every reason to dismiss the kid.

"Well, I am pain, and I am here to give myself to you in such a large dose that you wouldn't even feel it because you'll be too numb!"

The three robbers just laughed. "Hey kid, just go home to your Mommy or something," they then laughed some more. At that point, Butch struck the biggest robber, and he was out cold.

The two other robbers just stared at Butch in disbelief. "You're a…" the leaders began, unable to mouth the proper words.

"Yes, I'm a Rowdyruff," he said with pride as he took a dangerous step forward.

Soon, the big robber began emptying the bullets of his machine gun into Butch. Butch just stood there, the bullets having the same effect on him as a strong wind blowing against his face. A minute later, hot disfigured bullets piled high up around Butch's feet.

Seeing this, the leader just ran towards the entrance, in total terror of Butch.

Butch looked at the robber run. 'Looks like Brick will have his fun after all,' he thought, as he looked at the other robber. The man then dropped his gun and run and began climbing out of one of the windows on the back wall. Butch then punched him in the butt, sending him out the wall.

* * *

The terrified would-be bank robber soon stormed out of the door, terrified and deathly afraid, glad to be out of sight of Butch. But he was mistaken if he thought he was to be given a respite. As soon as he went out, he was tripped by none other than Brick, and he rolled on the bank pavement. Brick picked him up by the shirt before he could regain his balance.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

"Please, don't hurt me, I promise not to do it again, plea—" But he was cut off as Brick used his free hand to punch him in the stomach. He soon followed up with a punch in the face, in the chest, then with a slap, and with a flurry of punches.

By this time, the robber was reeling in pain, with most of his tooth knocked out, and his face unrecognizable, but Brick simply smiled and tossed him in the air. He then put up his fists in the air, and the robbers back landed on it, breaking his spine. He was soon quivering on the ground, totally incapacitated. He was still alive, but he was better off dead. Brick then spit on the body to show his contempt. 'He isn't even worth my damned spit.'

Moments later, Butch carrying the unconscious robber, went outside and flung his prey beside the other robber.

A few seconds later, the police arrived. Soon, dozens of police cars can be seen in front of the bank. The police just stared at the two boys with the two fallen robbers at their feet.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"You get it!" Buttercup ordered as she continued punching her meat.

"No, you do it!" Bubbles replied as she continued drawing.

"Oh I'll get it. For all we know, this is the Rowdyruff Boys attacking the city," Blossom replied as he picked up the phone.

"Hello Mayor," Blossom began. "The first National Bank is being robbed! We're on it, Mayor. Come on girls, the bank is being robbed."

"Some action at last," Buttercup said with relief as she was bored stiff because of the lack of action in the past three days after their second loss.

Soon, the girls were zooming towards the city.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Where are you going?" asked Boomer as the bank robber hit the ground after being pushed out by Butch.

"Outta my way, kid," he said as he began to run. But Boomer quickly intercepted him. He grabbed his arms and slammed him repeatedly on the pavement. He then threw him in the air at an angle, and Boomer then quickly went to the front of the bank. A few seconds later, the third robber landed with a loud thud beside his fellow robbers.

The police just stared at them, jaw wide open. The boys just looked at each other. "Who are you?" asked one of the police officers.

The boys, who had only contempt towards the police, decided to introduce themselves.

"I'm Brick!"

"I'm Butch!"

"And I'm Boomer!"

"And we're the Rowdyruff Boys," they said in unison, and they quickly flew home, proud of their accomplishment.

"How long did it take?" asked Butch.

Brick looked at his watch. "Five minutes," he said as he arrived home.

* * *

Three minutes later, the Powerpuff Girls arrived, simultaneously with the Police Commissioner. They were greeted with the sight of the robbers being carried into stretchers in ambulances.

"What happened?" asked the Commissioner.

"It looks like you didn't need our help after all!" Blossom asserted.

"It wasn't us," one of the police officers replied. "It was the Rowdyruff Boys. They took care of the robbers for us, and all we had to do was watch."

"What!" the Powerpuff Girls screamed.

"That can't be! Those boys are evil! They couldn't have done this, because it wouldn't be evil to help stop crime!" Blossom protested.

"Say what you want girls," said another police officer. "But I saw with my own eyes three boys in red, blue and green beat up the most dangerous trio of gangsters and bank robbers in Townsville, and they called themselves the Rowdyruff Boys, and their names are Brick, Butch and Boomer!"

"And correction," added the Commissioner. "I remember those boys before. The _were_ evil, but _are_ not anymore. It seems to me that after they beat you in the last fight, they changed, and they decided to put on a new leaf. Ha, I'll bet that they changed because they already got their revenge on you. Oh well, they're making amends for what they have done, and by the looks of it, Townsville is going to have a new set of superheroes!"

"But Commissioner, they're evil," Buttercup said. "We know that they're planning something sinister and this is just a ploy to fool us all!"

"Oh come now," the Commissioner replied. "You're just jealous. Don't fret about having competition. It'll only make you better. And you girls would always be number one in our hearts. Anyway, if they continue this, I'll withdraw all criminal charges against them and they will be Townsville's official second set of superheroes. Besides, it would be of Townsville's benefit." He then went to his car and left the stupefied Powerpuff Girls in the dust.

"Oooooh!" Blossom shouted. "Those dam—I mean those darned Boys!" She was frustrated. Things were not going on as she had planned—again. She wanted to pull out her hair.

Buttercup gritted her teeth and stumped her foot on the road. Unfortunately, she only succeeded in creating a hole in the asphalt.

"Buttercup, you should be more careful!" Blossom scolded.

"I can't help it Blossom!" Buttercup replied. "Those boys make me so mad! They're so sneaky!"

"I know what you mean!" Blossom answered back. "I mean, what are they up to?"

"Girls," Bubbles, who had been quiet all this time, said.

Buttercup and Blossom looked to her to listen to what their cutest sister has to say.

"Maybe the commissioner is right. Maybe those boys did change," Bubbles began but was cut off by her unbelieving sisters.

"What are you talking about?" Buttercup shouted at his sister. "_**Is your head so thick that after telling you a million times that there's no chance they're good you still believe they are capable of change?**_"

"Well," Bubbles retorted, "_**then why didn't they kill us when they had the chance, or why won't they attack Townsville, or why would they stop those bank robbers if they didn't change**_?"

"Look Bubbles," Blossom said, intervening before the fight of Bubbles and Buttercup went out of hand. "I understand how you feel, but the facts don't support your hypothesis!"

Bubbles looked at her with a blank stare.

"I mean what you think about those Boys are wrong. First, they didn't kill us because for some reason, they don't want us dead for their own selfish motives. Second, they are just waiting for the right opportunity to attack. It'll come sooner or later, that's why we have to remain prepared. Third, they just did it to fool everybody, just like that phony Major Man did."

"But—"

"Bubbles, aren't you the one who heard them say they would take over Townsville with Mojo and destroy us?"

"Yes."

"And didn't you hear them admit it to our faces that that is their plan?" Blossom asked liked a prosecuting attorney.

"Yes. I guess you're right girls," said Bubbles sadly, disappointed. "I just thought that we could be friends with them and they could join, you know, us in saving the day and stuff?"

Buttercup just rolled her eyes at the perceived naivety of Bubbles.

"Believe me Bubbles," Blossom replied, "if I there is ever a chance that they could be pulled from the side of evil, and become good superheroes like us, I'd promise that I would do everything that I can to make them our friends and allies."

"Really? You promise?"

"Yes Bubbles. I promise. But those three are irredeemably evil. You cannot change them. They are bad to the bone. Nothing that we can do will ever change them, and that is why we need to defeat them."

"I guess you're right," Bubbles replied.

Soon, the three puffs went home.

* * *

It was August 21.

It was a peaceful day at Townsville beach, or so it began. Happy families were swimming, or building sand castles, or just laying out enjoying the sun. There was nothing that could ruin the day of these beachgoers.

Except, of course, the Giant Monster that had just appeared.

It was at first, not noticeable. Only a few bubbles would indicate that a monster was emerging. But after a few seconds, a large hairy head, about the size of a battle tank, was above the water, peering maliciously at the beachgoers. It had three eyes, with a red cornea, a gold iris and a black pupil. Its golden fur was long, and dripping wet. It had a mouth like a Tyrannosaurus, with teeth as sharp as a dagger's blade. A few seconds later, he emerged full body. It was about the same size of a twenty story building, and had his entire body covered with golden fur. Its body looks like the body of a grizzly bear standing, except the feet, which instead of claws, had hooves. And it had a small tail, like a tail of a dog.

The beachgoers screamed when they saw the hideous monster. But they panicked in an orderly manner, their skills at evacuating from monsters honed from the almost incessant monster attacks, so much so that it would indeed be an unusual week when no monster attacked. Soon, on an almost instinctual habit, they were able to completely evacuate the beach in three minutes.

Except one. A young man of about twenty-six, saw the monster and immediately contacted Dr. Edwards. Now Dr. Edwards was in his home office talking on the phone with one of his business associates.

"I don't care, Richard. I want to get that company. And if Globetech opposes it, ruin it as well. I'll corner the tech market in this part of the country yet!" Dr. Edwards shouted on the phone when he heard his watch ring. "Excuse me, Richard, please hold."

He then pressed a button on his watch-communicator.

"Yes?"

"Sir, there is a monster attack on Townsville beach. This is Agent Charlie."

"Thanks, Charles," Dr. Edwards said as he pressed another button on his watch.

Brick, Butch, and Boomer were in the forest at the backyard of their home, exploring it. They were at this point sitting under a tree telling stories to each other when their watches all rang.

"Boys, there is a monster attack on Townsville Beach," Dr. Edwards voice said in the communicator. "Take care of it immediately!"

"Yes Dad," Brick said as they flew at top speed towards the beach.

* * *

In forty seconds, they reached it.

The monster ignored the beach and headed straight for Townsville, but before it could get out of the beach, a terrible punch sent it backwards.

Butch was grinning at his first monster fight. 'Now all the Monster Training in Dad's lab is gonna pay off,' he thought as he took hold of its left arm, and with laser eyes, was able to tear it off the rest of the monster.

Brick quickly saw it and headed for the head. The monster opened its big mouth to roar Brick to submission, but before any sound could escape, Brick filled its mouth with ice. Boomer then punched it in the jaw breaking the ice but inflicting intense pain on the jaw. In addition, the ice in the monster's head produced a stinging headache. This, plus fact that its arm was torn off produced more excruciating pain, caused the monster to lose any semblance of control over its own body, and he began to act wildly.

* * *

Meanwhile…

One of the citizens from the beach saw a police officer with his partner at their car.

"Officer, call the Powerpuff Girls, call the Rowdyruff Boys, call anybody! A monster is attacking Townsville at the beach!" she shouted, and continued running.

"A monster! I gotta warn the chief!" the officer exclaimed, and picked up his radio to contact headquarters.

* * *

In the Police headquarters…

"It's your turn Mack," Henry Kaczinsci said, lazily eating his donut and watching TV.

"No, it's your turn, Kaczinsci," Mack replied, sipping his coffee, not making a move towards the phone.

"Oh for crying out loud!" John Partelli, who just entered carrying a bunch of paperwork. "Honestly, you wouldn't even answer the call if the Russians suddenly invaded us!" He then answered the phone. "Oh shit!" he gasped as he run towards the commissioner's office.

"What's it now, Partelli?" Kaczinsci said. "Some pickpocket?"

"No, a monster attack!" Partelli replied as he burst into the Commissioner's office.

"Sir, there's another monster attack at Townsville. It's still at the beach."

"Good Heavens. Good thing we have the Powerpuff Girls at our side. I'll call the mayor so he can call them," Commissioner Alexander Grulp said as he dialled the phone number of the Mayor's office.

* * *

Meanwhile…

The monster was now stomping blindly and angrily towards Townsville. Boomer was going to stop it but its free arm was able to hit Boomer and the blue ruff was plowed into the sand. Brick, in desperation, lunged towards its back but its tail caught him and wrapped it around his neck.

"Butch, is it ready yet?" he asked in a choking voice.

Butch, who all this time was heating the broken arm of the monster, said, "Not yet!"

"Hurry," Brick said as Boomer rammed himself at the base of the tail, immediately cutting it off. Brick then freed himself from the grip of the severed tail.

* * *

Meanwhile…

The Mayor of Townsville was in his office, watching _Godzilla_ when the phone rang.

"Hello, this is the Police Commissioner."

"Hi Alex, What's up!" the Mayor asked.

"A monster is attacking the city," the Commissioner shouted.

"Yup. Godzilla is indeed tearing through the town. It's too bad that New York City has no Powerpuff Girls, too bad…hey how'd you know I was watching Godzilla? You've been spying one me…"

"Oh for God's sake will you please shut up Mayor and listen to me?"

The mayor was suddenly cowed by the Commissioner's shouting. "Yes Alex?"

"Thank you mayor. There is a monster attacking Townsville. I suggest you call the Powerpuff Girls now and tell them to go to the beach."

"Ah Alex?"

"Yes Mayor?"

"Are you sure there's a real monster out there and you're not talking about Godzilla?"

The Police Commissioner in frustration hung-up.

"Rude man. Oh, yes, the Powerpuff Girls," he said as he picked up the hotline.

* * *

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup where all lounging in their room doing nothing, and were bored stiff. Suddenly the hotline rang.

"I'll get it!" Buttercup said, and was about to pick it up when Blossom tripped her.

"I'm the leader and I'm supposed to answer the hotline," she arrogantly said to Buttercup. "Hello Mayor, a monster at the beach? We're on it Mayor."

"Girls, there's—"

"I'm on it," Buttercup said as she flew towards the beach without waiting for her sister.

Bubbles and Blossom followed her, although Blossom was a bit peeved with her raven haired sister.

* * *

Meanwhile…

The beach was soon full reporters and television crews, who kept their distance to avoid being harmed.

The monster, tailless, one armed and out of control, made another unconscious attack on Townsville.

Boomer stepped before him and used his Sonic Boom to push him back towards the beach. Brick then used his ice breath and froze him. It was made worse by the fact that it was still dripping wet, and as a result, its entire body was frozen solid in a block of ice.

"I'm ready!" Butch replied, holding the end of a red- hot monster arm.

Brick and Boomer then threw the monster high in the air. When it was high enough, Butch hurled the arm to the monster, and seconds later, the red-hot arms made contact with the frozen monster. A few more seconds, and it was impaled by it. It was now dead. Another few seconds and it was lying on the beach, with many photographers taking pictures of it.

The boys were high in the air, proud, when they noticed the girls were approaching.

"Darn it!" Brick said. "Let's go down before those girls notice us."

Quick as a bee, they quickly went down the ground and melted into the crowd.

* * *

The crowd cheered, shouting, "Hurrah for the Rowdyruff Boys!" when the Powerpuff Girls arrived.

"Thank you, citizens…Rowdyruff Boys?" Blossom gasped. "We're not the Rowdyruff Boys, we're the Powerpuff Girls!"

"We're not talking about you girls," one of the people in the crowd said. "We're talking about the Rowdyruff Boys!"

"Yeah," another one shouted. "They saved Townsville by killing that monster." He then pointed to the frozen haired impaled monster.

"Where are they?" asked Buttercup in a dangerous tone.

"They're…hey, where are they?"

The Rowdyruff Boys had just disappeared.

The girls then peeled their eyes among the crowd to find the boys, but found nothing. Only a few bystanders, a taxi headed toward town, a couple of parked cars, and several reporters.

"Those boys are definitely going to get it when we get their hands on them," Buttercup said, low enough for the crowd not to hear but loud enough for her sisters to hear.

"I hear ya," Blossom said in an angry tone. "Those boys are definitely getting on my nerves. They're trying to gain the trust of the town and then wham! They'll attack the city when nobody expects it because the people thinks of them as heroes. Well, we're not buying it. At least we know what they are really like."

Bubbles just stood there and said nothing, and looked like she was in deep thought.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Now, why did we run away from those sissies?" yelled Butch to Brick. They were in the back of a taxi, headed towards home, to conceal themselves from the girls. "I mean we haven't lost a fight to them yet, and here we are as if we are some ordinary weak criminal hiding from those girls! I mean, where is your pride?"

"Butch, Boomer, before I go on further, I want you to avoid all contact with those girls," Brick said in a serious tone. "Because one, those girls are looking for us. Remember, we're still equal in strength and speed, and they're still teed off at us for beating them to a bloody pulp—twice. They're looking for us because they want a rematch, because they want to have their revenge and beat us to a bloody pulp."

"And you think we'll lose?" Butch said with incredulity.

"Of course not," Boomer suddenly interjected. "We can't lose. We're the Rowdyruff Boys. We're too proud too!"

"You're the one to talk, _Mr. I am the only Rowdyruff ever to fall on battle_," Butch retorted. "And for your information, you have no pride as a Rowdyruff, because if you have it, you wouldn't let yourself be easily knocked out and then cry over it like a baby." Although Butch really knew that his blonde brother had nothing to be ashamed of, he was still teed off by Brick's decision that he took it out on poor Boomer.

Those words cut through the very soul of Boomer. He took much comfort in his father's lecture on pride that Butch's words threatened to bring him back to the state he felt after being knocked out cold. Instead, the got very angry at green clad brother, for by this time, even if among the three, he got the least amount of pride, he got enough of it to make him not anymore take Butch's words. He breathed heavily, with his eyes burning in anger as he looked at his black haired brother.

Butch flinched as he saw the transformation of his blond brother from the most mild-mannered looking among them to a very ferocious look, rivalling Bubbles' look when she took on for herself the challenge of hardcore.

"Take it back, Butch," he said slowly, deliberately and with the intent to back it up with force if necessary.

"Okay, okay, I take it back," Butch suddenly said, suddenly not wanting a confrontation with a mad Boomer. "You definitely have pride as a Rowdyruff."

Boomer suddenly returned to normal as he heard this words. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Thanks!"

"As I was saying," Brick suddenly said, "I don't think we'll lose, although there's always a chance. And if those girls want a rematch, why should we give it to them that easy? If they want to get it, then they must find us first!"

"Yeah!" Boomer said, agreeing with every word of his redheaded brother.

"And they still think we're in league with Mojo and trying to take over Townsville, and I for one don't want to spend most of my days fighting for my life, even if I enjoy it," Brick added.

"They do? Oh yes I remember, Butch for some reason admitted that!" Boomer said. "Oh well, why don't we go and tell them that we're not going to take over Townsville?"

"Are you serious Boomer?" Butch suddenly said. "Do you really want to grovel before them, to stand on your knees and beg? Because telling them that would amount to apologizing!"

"So?" Boomer replied. "Dad said that apologizing is okay as long as what you think you did was wrong. It'll only make a bad situation worst!"

"Boomer," Brick said, "we won't apologize and that's final. Besides, when they see what we're doing now, they'll realize we're not in league with that stupid monkey, not bent on taking over Townsville, and not bent on destroying them. Then they'll realize how silly they are for thinking such and they would see that we're just bluffing when we said that to them. So it won't get worse. It'll only get better. They would cease to see us as a threat, and we won't have to apologize or admit that we lied to them, and everybody would be happy!"

"Oh," Boomer said. "If you put it that way, then I guess we'll have no reason to apologize then."

* * *

It was August 22.

"DAD!" Brick shouted. "Dad!"

Brick was flying angrily in their house, clutching a newspaper in one hand. Besides him were Butch and Boomer. They found him in his office, reading some books.

"Yes son?" asked the Doctor.

"Dad, you should sue this paper for libel and defamation of character!" Brick said, waving the paper wildly at his Dad's face.

"Calm down. Now what's in the newspaper that made you so angry?"

"It called us s-s-s-s," Butch began but was unable to finish the word because of disgust.

"Superheroes!" Boomer spat, finishing the words. "Now what gave them the dumb and stupid idea that we're superheroes?"

"Now let me see that," Dr. Edwards said as he took the paper and read the headlines. "It says, _THE ROWDYRUFF BOYS SAVE THE DAY. TOWSVILLE HAS NEW SET OF SUPERHEROES"_Dr. Edwards then read aloud the rest of the article. "_The city yesterday was saved for the second time by its old nemesis, the Rowdyruff Boys. These same boys who just a few weeks ago beat up the Powerpuff Girls have turned on a new leaf. They are now good, fighting for what is right, and not anymore evil. They are the new Superheroes, fighting crime just like the beloved Powerpuff Girls. The Citizens of Townsville are grateful for them, and for that, the Chief of Police Alexander Grulp announced that the city would formally withdraw all previous charges connected with their past._

Dr. Edwards was delighted at the news. He yearned the day when his sons would be socially respectable, and would be accepted by the people, and it seemed to him that this indeed was the day.

"That's disgusting," Brick said. "But look at the article besides it. It is even worst. It actually compares us to those girls."

"_POWERPUFF GIRLS GAIN NEW ALLIES IN FIGHTING CRIME. ALTHOUGH SOME SAY ROWDYRUFF BOYS ARE NEW RIVALS INSTEAD_," the title ran, and then he continued reading it. It basically compared the two and basically said that though they were allies in fighting crime, they were rivals for who were the better crime fighters. It concluded by saying that at this point, the girls were better because they had been fighting crime longer, but the boys had promise of beating them because they seem to be more efficient and were always in the scene of the crime first.

"We're not superheroes at all!" all three said.

"And why not?" Dr. Edwards said. "What is in it with the word that makes you cringe?"

"Because the Powerpuff Girls are superheroes, and as we said, we don't like to be anything like them!" Butch protested.

"Then why are you doing this stuff if you don't want to be called superheroes?"

"Because we enjoy it. We enjoy beating the stuffing out of those pathetic criminals and monsters," Butch retorted.

"And because it's our duty to you, Dad," Brick added. "It's our only way of showing how grateful we are that you revived us, that you let us have our revenge, but above all, on how you treated us with care and affection. We did it because we care for you Dad, because you love Townsville. We did it because we know that a large part of your businesses is in Townsville, and we have to protect it. We did it because we know you like the people of Townsville, so we had to protect them, even if they don't deserve it. Even though we ourselves are indifferent to Townsville, and have only contempt to its Citizens, we will protect it and watch over it better than those girls, because we want you to be proud of us. We want to be the best sons you ever had, because what you did for us is priceless. I'll admit, if Mojo had been the one who revived us, and he treated us the way you treated us, we'll probably be out there destroying Townsville. But now I'm grateful that you were the one who did, not Mojo. BUT WE ARE NOT SUPERHEROES."

"Why not?" asked Dr. Edwards, whose face showed that he was deeply touched by his sons' words. It showed the _Mojo Theory_ right, as self-interest evolved into something much nobler in his children.

"Superheroes do those things because they did it out of their hearts, because they are genuinely concerned with the welfare of the people and the city for its own sake," Brick continued. "We're not. We only did it for the selfish reason of trying to please you, of trying to be grateful. Even if we do the same things as the girls, we still have different outlooks from them, and to say we are something like them is an insult."

"Boys," began Dr. Edwards. "Being called a superhero is not a reproach. Rather, it is an honor, a badge to be proudly shown. Superheroes are not called superheroes because of pure good motives in doing what they do. Believe me boys, nobody has purely good motives. Everything a person does has a tinge of self-interest in them. What matters is what he does. What matters is how he affects the lives of so many others in a positive way. Now you may think the Powerpuff Girls are not partially motivated by self-interest, but believe me, they are. As for you, I've seen more so-called heroes with even more selfish reasons for trying to be heroic. Yours, even if you think is selfish, is actually very noble. Never complain that you are called a superhero, rather, be proud that people choose to bestow that title on to you."

The boys didn't argue this further with their Dad.

Indeed, the boys' characters had truly changed by this point.

* * *

The entire week went pretty much like the past two days. Whenever there was a crime or monster attack, Dr. Edwards' agents would communicate its nature and location to him, and he would immediately relay it to his boys. The boys then flew in and dispatched the trouble with extreme efficiency. Especially the monsters, none of which got ever close to Townsville. During this time, the boys still can't admit they're superheroes, even if the rest of the city considers them as such.

The Powerpuff Girls always arrived at the scene of the crime or monster attack too late because of the incompetence of the police and the mayor. Usually, by the time the Mayor would tell the Girls of an emergency, it usually was already being taken care of by the Boys.

The boys and the girls had no contact during these times because Brick strictly enforced his policy of totally avoiding the Powerpuff Girls.

* * *

It was August 28.

It is just another day. The Girls had just returned from a crime scene that had just been taken care of by the boys, and like before, they disappeared.

"Why do they insist on disappearing every time?" Buttercup complained. "It's bad enough that they have to deceive the entire city, now they want to take our jobs away from us!"

"Just like Major Man," Blossom said, frowning. "They pretend to be superheroes, but in reality, they are rotten. Like Major Man, those boys are not really superheroes that they pretend to be. But unlike him, they're doing this to surprise Townsville into complacency so they and Mojo can achieve total surprise when they make their move."

Bubbles was silent, still in deep though, though she's still listening closely to her sister's words.

"And just like Major Man," Blossom suddenly smirked, "those boys will fall. I have a plan. Tomorrow night, we'll give positive proof to the City of Townsville of their true nature, and their reputations, like a rock thrown high in the air will fall as quickly it rose."

"But we don't have proof," Bubbles suddenly said. "All we have is hunches that nobody would believe."

"Today, we haven't," Blossom began, "but tomorrow, everything will fall in its proper place and those boys will be destroyed once and for all. Tomorrow, the City of Townsville can breathe easy once again that one of the most powerful villains in its history will be gone and it would be safe and sound once again."

* * *

**Author thanks.**

To **SupersayainkingTommy,**well, I continued. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for reviewing. To **Hairy Gregory**(you're the one who forgot to write the name in the review section. It's easy to find out because your style of review is well known and the fact that I addressed the next chapter answered questions thing), Bubbles always believes that good always wins over evil, and as this chapter says, she has no trouble getting over her defeat, and her self-esteem was largely intact after the fight, unlike her sisters. Yup, Blossom by this time is more confident of being eventually beating the boys. Ms. Keane is getting suspicious, and you'll discover in the next chapter how it will come full circle. As for the girls, they projected an image of confidence, of invincibility. Though inside, they (at least Blossom and Buttercup) had grave self doubts, it would not in any way affect their determination to defeat the boys. And they indeed have a very good chance of defeating them. They are still at equal strength, and as Brick said, they are just unlucky. Still, they would have to hone their battle instincts to adjust to the new reality that they are not anymore overwhelmingly superior in battles, as before the RRB were revived. Whether they would do so or not will be answered in the next chapters. To **Caeruleus Flamma**, thanks for reading my story. Anyway, the reason my chapters get so long is because I already have a habit predeterminining what should be included in this or that chapter, and usually, when I mentally list them, it seemed short enough, but when I actually write them, I have a habit of inserting so many details and dialogue to make the chapter interesting that it makes the chapter longer than I planned. Anyway, is usually split it up if it is too long, like what I did at the 'Second Clash' which I originally planned as one chapter. To **Bubblebean 22**, thanks. Yup, there's more coming. I've got several chapters more planned before this story is ended. To **DL23400**, thanks. I'll try to read you story when I have the time, thought I really don't know anything about the Skies of Arcadia. To **Ud the Imp**, thanks. And most probably not. My fic is too serious, and too long, to be considered an episode. As for your story, I really don't know much about Twisted Metal, but I'll read it soon enough. Just be patient. To **Uncle Sam**. Thanks. For a while, I thought you had forgotten to read and review this, but when I saw your name of the review list, I felt relieved that you only were late. Anyway, I promise the Powerpuff Girls will find out that Dr. Edwards is the father of the Rowdyruff Boys very very soon. You won't have to wait that long. **To TJ Rose**, Thanks. Like Uncle Sam, I thought you would never review, but I was wrong. Boomer reacted the way he did because he is the most innocent, most eager to succeed, and most insecure about his talents. Butch, like Buttercup, just wanted to tease his blond sibling. Yup, Blossom's self-esteem and ego was crushed by her nightmare, but it not her determination to win. AS for Bubbles, being beaten up to a bloody pulp was to her part and parcel of being a superhero, so it didn't affect her as much. And as I said, she was to innocent to be psychologically affected by it all. To **nightglider_star**, thanks for reading my story. You know, you have such a good start in your Rowdyruff Return story that you should continue it. And sorry for having to make you wait so long. I only hope this chapter makes up for it.

Anyway, keep reading and keep reviewing my stories. I promise I'll update again as soon as I can, and I'll try to answer every question you ask, and I'll try to address every point you make. Until next time!


	11. The Irony of It All

**Allies and Rivals**

I have reread chapter ten and I noticed many grammatical errors and typos. I am very sorry if I have inconvenienced readers by these errors. I have edited it and have reposted it. Don't worry, you won't miss anything by my reposting chapter 10. I just eliminated most of the typos and corrected my grammatical mistakes.

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**The Irony of It All**

The City of Townsville and it was August 29.

It was a pleasant afternoon in Dr. Edwards' office at the Edtech Corp. Townsville HQ. Dr. Edwards was reading some company papers, and was bored stiff.

"Sir," Mr. Clark the clerk suddenly said, "the Powerpuff Girls are here to see you."

'Oh, something to do at last,' he thought. "I'll be there in a minute. Tell them to wait in waiting room, Doug."

He got up from his chair, straightened his tie, wiped his glasses, wore his fedora hat, and walked towards the waiting room.

"Hi girls," he said as he saw the three little darlings.

"Hello Doctor," Bubbles and Blossom simultaneously greeted.

"Hi," said Buttercup simply.

"Now what could I do for you three wonderful girls?" he beamed.

"Well, nothing really," Blossom said. "You already did so much for us, and we're here only to thank you for patching us up after the fight—again."

"Well, no need for thanks girls," Dr. Edwards replied. "I really had no choice after seeing what happened to you."

"Well thanks anyway, Doctor," Blossom said.

"Yeah, Doctor, we owe you one again," Bubbles said, smiling at him.

"And we'll soon take care of those Rowdyruff Boys," Buttercup declared. "They will soon find out that they just can't beat us up, and scheme to take over Towsville and get away with it."

"Oh those Rowdyruff Boys aren't so bad," the businessman scientist said. "They're just good boys. Just looked at what they did this past week."

"Oh Doctor, not you too!?" Blossom exclaimed in surprise. "Please don't tell me that you've been deceived too?"

"What?" he replied. "Who's deceiving whom?" He had no idea what Blossom was talking about.

"The Rowdyruff Boys!" Blossom exclaimed. "They've been deceiving the entire town into thinking they're superheroes!"

"Nonsense!" he replied. "I'm quite sure they're not doing this for deception purposes."

"How are you so sure?" asked Buttercup.

"Because I know them very well," Dr. Edwards declared.

"You do?" Bubbles asked.

"Of course. They're my sons," he offhandedly remarked, as if he was saying something pretty obvious.

"WHAT?" the three exclaimed.

"Stop kidding around Doctor," Blossom said. "This is a serious matter. Those boys have to be stopped!"

"I'm not kidding," he said, his expression becoming serious. "I was the one who accidentally recreated them!"

"NO—" Blossom said shocked. "It can't be. They're evil, you're not—"

"They _were_ evil when I recreated them, fortunately, they are not anymore," Dr. Edwards said, defending his sons. "They are just good little boys now!"

"LIAR!" Buttercup shouted. Tears were streaming out of the eyes of the girls. "_How could you? We thought you were our friend, and all along you were raising our worst enemies? We trusted you, and you deceived us! Why_?"

"I never told you about my boys because I knew you wouldn't give them the chance they deserve if you knew," Dr. Edwards said, his voice firm, loud, and determined. "Yes I kept that secret from you, and from everybody else. And yes—they were your worst enemies when I recreated them—but now they are just as good as little boys are. Back then, all they wanted was to destroy you, to defeat you, to wipe out the shame of their loss, but now, not anymore. Now, they do not consider you enemies to be destroyed—that I heard from their own mouths themselves. You may have a hard chance accepting this, but people change, girls, and those boys sure did. I just want you to give them a chance, that's all."

Bubbles was the least sad. 'I knew it!' she thought The boys weren't evil and could be brought over to the good side. I just wished Dr. Edwards could have told us sooner. Thanks Dr. Edwards for prying the boys from evil.' She looked at the doctor with admiration. 'Anyway, Blossom's gonna be more shocked when I'll hold her to keep her promise about doing everything to make them our friends and allies if they had a chance.' But outside, she didn't say anything aloud, nor did she act like she was feeling because she was afraid of her sister's reaction to her reaction if she jumped up and down with joy and hugged Dr. Edwards right there and then.

"NO! Buttercup was right! YOU'RE LYING!" Blossom declared, still crying. She looked at Dr. Edwards with a mixture of anger, disbelief, and sorrow. "Those boys are incorrigibly evil! And you pretended to be our friend! HOW COULD YOU? You could have at least the decency to tell us when we thanked you the other time, _**but you have to deceive us, to lie to us**_."

With that, Blossom and Buttercup flew away, crashing to the roof, with emotions still high, crying and comforting each other. Bubbles looked at the hole.

"Dr. Edwards, I knew they couldn't be that evil! At least not as Blossom makes us to believe they are. And I know you're not lying. Thanks for making those boys good!" After saying those words, she dashed off after her sisters, leaving a confused and agitated Dr. Edwards behind.

"And the Pandora's box was just opened," he said to himself. "It's time."

He then went back to the office and dialled Ms. Sandra Keane's number.

"Hello, Sandy, it's me."

"Hello William, You haven't called for a long time. How are you?"

"Fine Sandy. Just fine. I just want you to call John and Miss Bellum and tell me to meet me at the Mayor's office at six o'clock. Tell them that this is urgent. If John doesn't believe me, tell them that this is about the Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls!"

"Oh my! Is it that important?"

"It is!"

Dr. Edwards then hung up the phone and dialled another number.

"Hello. Are you Miss Jennifer Gates?"

"Yes sir," a girl about 5'3", about fifteen years old, answered.

"And you are interested in babysitting?"

"Yes sir," the teen-ager eagerly replied.

"Okay. Would you mind baby-sitting three of my sons tonight? They're all six years old."

"Triplets?"

"You could say that. So, would you?"

"Of course," Jennifer replied. "I'm sure the boys and I would have so much fun!"

"How's $100 an hour?" the richest man in Townsville and Citisville offered. "Will that be enough?"

There was a long silence, then there was a scream, and sounds of jumping, then she answered.

"Of course, sir," she replied, her tone betraying her excitement at receiving $100 or more easy. "I'd be happy to."

"Okay, now at six today, go to…" Dr. Edwards then told her the address, and hung up.

He then pushed a button at his communicator. "Brick?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"Yes. I won't be home early, so I just called a babysitter to take care of you," Dr. Edwards said.

"But Dad, we don't need a babysitter, we can take care of ourselves!"

"Yeah, we're not babies anymore," said Butch's voice.

"I know that boys, but she's just there to look after you. Now, she'll arrive at about six. She is about 5'3", has long brown hair, and her name is Jennifer Gates."

"But Dad…" Brick, Butch and Boomer whined.

"No buts. You're getting a babysitter and that's that!" he said, slightly raising his voice.

"Yes Dad," the boys said.

"Now be good," Dr. Edwards warned as he turned off the communicator.

Brick looked at his brothers with a frown on his face. "Darn it, we're gonna have a babysitter."

* * *

Meanwhile, about five in the afternoon…

Blossom and Buttercup were lying on the clouds, thinking about what just transpired. Buttercup was too angry to think clearly, and Blossom's heart doesn't want to believe that Dr. Edwards was what her brain was saying to her. She had grown to like Dr. Edwards too much, and even the revelation didn't _completely_ rupture her respect and regard for the businessman-scientist. Her harsh words were just a product of her emotions that time, and a couple of hours cooled her head just enough for her to be able to think and to analyse the situation.

"Imagine that, and all this time, Dr. Edwards was one of the bad guys!" Buttercup said to Blossom, still sniffling.

"Yeah Buttercup! It's hard to believe that one of your friends is really—no Buttercup, I still don't believe that Dr. Edwards is evil. I mean, why would he patch us up even after those boys beat us? Come to think of it, I don't know what to believe."

"I don't get it!" Buttercup replied. "I mean he is the father of those Boys, and the boys are evil. How he could he not be evil if that is the case?!"

"Because he's not!" Bubbles suddenly said as she popped out of nowhere. "I told you Blossom, those boys have a chance to be good, and Dr. Edwards made them so. I don't know how, but he did it!"

"And why so?" Blossom asked sceptically.

"Because I believe that Dr. Edwards was not lying!" Bubbles defended.

"Yeah, I don't too! I mean he was so sincere when he was saying it, and it seems to me that he believes everything that he said to us," Blossom replied.

"I told you—" Bubbles began.

"But that doesn't mean that those boys are not evil. I know it's weird, them having a good father, and being evil at the same time. I mean, Dr. Edwards told us that those boys are good, but we all know you heard those boys plotting with Mojo in the Volcano top observatory and admitting it to us before the last battle!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" Bubbles said dejectedly.

"So what's going on?" asked Buttercup. "If you believe that Dr. Edwards was totally honest with what he said to us a while ago, how can you resolve it with the fact that the boys were evil?"

Blossom didn't answer and was silent for a minute. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she smirked. "Of course, I've got it! It's very very simple actually!"

And so Blossom told her sisters how Dr. Edwards could be good and honest and how could his sons be evil.

"Oh those boys will pay for that!" Buttercup remarked after Blossom explained.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Bubbles.

"Of course! When was I ever wrong on matters that mattered most?" Blossom confidently said.

"Then, I guess you're right—again. That was terrible—I mean those things that they did to Dr. Edwards, and—" and she began to cry in her sister's shoulder. She realized she was wrong about the boys, but her heart somehow kept telling her that Blossom was wrong.

"Come now Bubbles," Blossom said. "It's terrible, but now, we've got to teach those boys a lesson."

"So we're proceeding with our plan to expose them as phonies to the citizens of Townsville and at the same time, beat them up to a bloody pulp for what they did?" Buttercup asked.

"Of course," Blossom confidently said. "Now, let's find Dr. Edwards and tell him what we know."

It was five minutes to six when they flew to find the Doctor.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"John, William just called. Please come to the Mayor's office. He's got something to say about the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys!" Ms. Keane said on the phone.

John Utonium was silent for a moment. "Okay, I'll come," he finally said, then hung up.

The creator of the Powerpuff Girls then went for his coat and drove towards the Mayor's office.

'I wonder what that he wants? He better not be doing anything which might have caused harm to my girls or God knows what I might do!'

Meanwhile, Dr. Edwards just stepped out of his car. He straightened his tie, buttoned his vest, fixed his hat, and wiped his glasses at the front of the Mayor's office.

He looked at it with solemnity.

'And now, here goes nothing,' he thought. 'My performance in the next few hours would decide the future of my sons in Townsville. I'd better not screw this up for my boys!'

And so, he went into the Mayor's office, feeling like a lawyer going into a courthouse of hostile jurors.

* * *

**Author thanks.**

To **Ud the Imp**, thanks. Whether or not it would led to Blossom's downfall would be seen in the next chapters. To **TJ Rose**, thanks for reading. I didn't know it was funny, nor did I intend it to be. But I'm glad it turned out that way. Anyway, the Mayor, we all know how stupid he was, and the police, we also know how incompetent they were. Yup, Blossom and Buttercup is really stubborn, but as you said, they have a good reason to be. You're right Bubbles' heart always seem to indicate what is right, and her sisters would eventually realize it. Well, I'm glad you think I got the Boys characters right. And I hope you like this updates. I hope you don't kill me for such a cliffhanger. To **Uncle Sam,**the Mayor's an idiot, I totally agree. I'm glad you like chapter 10, and I hope you like chapter 11. As for the PPG finding out what the RRB's secret is, this chapter answers you're question, although you'd find out more in chapter 12. As for Blossom screwing up, you'll have to wait for the next two or three chapters to find out. Blossom too is my favorite PPG, and I agree she could be so arrogant. To **Hairy Gregory,**ha I was right about it being you're review. Brick was indeed SO wrong. He was so proud to apologize even if he knows it was wrong, though he did a brilliant excuse and made a thoughtful analysis on the implications of his and his brothers saving the day, as you said, but because the presumption was wrong from the start, it didn't hold. He hadn't considered the PPG's stubborn will and pride, especially Blossom and Buttercup's, and the wrong evidence that they had so carelessly confirmed and given away. Well, I was basing this on the assumption on the show where almost 99% of the time, it's the Mayor's office's call that showed the Powerpuff Girls' emergency. And since most of the people in the field are police officers, it's logic that they call the Mayor first, who then calls the PPG, because I assumed it was always that way in the show. Yup, it would be easier if there was a direct hotline, but we all know the general stupidity of the police and the Mayor. Yup I agree, they should all be fired, but since most of the people of Townsville are as stupid as the police, it would be extremely hard to find even_slightly_competent replacements. Thanks for the reviews Hairy Gregory, I really enjoyed it. To **lia,**yup, that's it, though I don't really know what it was that you're ashamed of. You should tell state it clearly so I can address it. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing my fic. To **DL23400,**I'm surprised you've reviewed. You usually review on every other chapter, but I'm glad you reviewed this one. Anyway, Butch and Brick blew it, since they admitted to the PPG they're in alliance with Mojo before the commencement of their second fight, even if it was false. And this is chapter 11, and I'm proud I've gotten this far. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. Expect chapter 12 next week.


	12. Untruth and Consequences

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead..

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**Chapter 12**

**Untruth and Consequences**

The City of Townsville, and in the suburbs of Townsville, a teen-age girl of about 15 was walking towards the home of her client, Dr. Edwards. She knocked at the door.

"Come in," Brick's voice said.

Soon, Jennifer Gates entered.

"You must be our baby sitter, Miss Jennifer Gates," Butch said as he saw the 5'3" high girl with long brown hair.

'Ah, what cute little boys,' she thought. "Yes I am. Now, tell me your names? No wait, let me guess. The one with the green shirt is Brick, the blond one is Butch, and the redhead is Boomer?"

The brothers looked at each other with a mischievous grin.

"No, you got it quite wrong," Butch said. "I'm Boomer"

"I'm Brick," Boomer declared.

"And I'm Butch," Brick declared.

"Nice try," she said. "You're really Brick," she pointed at the redhead, "and Butch," she pointed at the black haired ruff, "and you're Boomer," she pointed at the blond one. She was smirking.

"Hey how'd you know?" asked Boomer.

"Because, stupid," Brick explained, "Dad called her and gave a description of each of us, and she asked this of us to test us or something, to get a better hold of our personalities. Also, our names and pictures are all over the media because of what we did this past week."

"Hey, Brick, you're really smart," Jennifer exclaimed. "How'd you figure it out?"

"If you really must know, Miss Gates," Brick began, "it's really very simple. Dad called us before about you coming, and gave us the description of yours truly. Now, logic dictates that he would give you the description of your charges so that you would know how we look. And someone who's name and face were plastered all over the media this past week won't be unknown very long. You'd had to be a hermit living in the middle of nowhere not to know us. You then pretended to not know our names, even if you already knew for the reasons I already gave, and we purposely threw you off. You then told us we were wrong."

"You're really good for a six year old, Brick," Jennifer Gates said, really impressed.

"So what else is new?" Brick replied.

"Wow, Brick's ego really inflated this time," Butch remarked.

"At least I've got something to boast about," Brick retorted, "unlike a certain brother who's got a brain and personality of a raging bull!"

"Hey! Take that back!" Butch shouted.

"Make me!" Brick challenged.

"I sure will!" Butch replied. He then attempted to hit Brick with a laser. Brick was able to dodge the laser but Jennifer was behind him so it hit her instead. Luckily, the blast was just a mild one that it only covered her with soot and did gave her only minor pain, but it was mighty annoying.

"You scum, you jerk," Brick replied with mock horror. "Hitting the babysitter with laser-eyes. How low could you go! You must pay for this," he said as he got some water balloons from Boomer as if on cue. Soon, they looked at each other and walked, ever keeping their distance but revolving around an imaginary center. They slowly floated above the ground, and Butch's back was soon at their babysitter's face with Brick right across him.

"For your insolence, take this!" Brick shouted, as he threw the water balloon at Butch. Butch dodged but it hit Jennifer instead. To her horror, she found out that it was not water that was inside the balloon, but green goo.

"What a low it is for you two," Boomer suddenly said, joining in the fight. "Take this, you two!" he then threw a pie at Brick, who somehow got in front of Jennifer. It hit her square in the face when Brick dodged it.

"Boys! Stop fighting before somebody gets hurt!" Jennifer screamed. "Namely me!"

"It's their fault!" each of them shouted pointing fingers at each of their brothers.

"I don't care whose fault it is!" she shouted. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up. Now, watch TV and wait for me."

"Yes Miss Gates," all three said.

She went to the bathroom, and as soon as the three were out of hearing range, they burst into laughter.

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Meanwhile…

Dr. William Edwards entered the Mayor's office. He first put his hat and coat at the hat and coat rack. There was still nobody there. 'Either I'm too early or they're too late.' He looked at the office, and some forgotten memories came back to him.

'There was where John and I hid the pickle jar,' he thought, looking at the left drawer of the mayor's desk. 'We had loads of laughs when the Mayor didn't know why his pickle jar is not on the right drawer. And there is another group picture of us. That's me, John Utonium, Sandy Keane, Sarah Bellum, and Spencer Morebucks. Those were the days. Too bad John had to steal my work when I was in college, and Spencer had to take him being me and my Dad's competitor too much that it destroyed our friendship while we were still at college. I remember being dragged here too many times with John since I was four for so many pranks and gags on almost everybody. We were the dastardly duo, at least the papers called us before, and no one was safe from us. Good thing the Mayor's so stupid that we were able to get away with almost everything by just sweet talking the Mayor. Damn it John, why did you have to ruin everything for me?'

A few seconds later, Ms. Bellum entered.

"William, is that you?"

"Yes Sarah, it's me," Dr. Edwards replied.

"Oh my gosh, it's really you! How long have you been in Townsville! Why didn't you call on us? Ms. Keane told us that you were here but we didn't really know until now!" she then tightly hugged her friend.

"Well, it's me alright. I've been here since July 6. Sorry, I was so busy I haven't had time to call," he replied, now turning blue due to the tightness of the hug.

Ms. Bellum released him from the hug but still held him in his shoulders.

"Look at you, so rich and famous, well not that famous, but still, you've come a long way since we last saw you. You must tell me everything that happened. Did you get married? How's life?"

"Well, you're right, I'm kinda rich but not at all famous, and yeah, I suppose I've come a long way," he said, scratching his head as he said so, embarrassed. "Well, you won't know much else that you haven't already read in the papers, and I'm single, and life's been good to me lately. Anyway, where are Sandy, the Mayor, and John? I've got something very important to tell them."

"Well, the Mayor's will be here in a minute…oh I guess I was a minute too late. Hi Mayor!"

"Hello Ms. Bellum, who's the young man?" asked the Mayor who had just entered.

"This, Mayor, is Dr. William Edwards."

"Who? I don't seem to remember him. Are you one of my nephews?"

"No Mayor, I'm not!"

"Then perhaps you're one of my long lost sons?"

"Mayor, you don't have any lost sons! They are all accounted for as of this minute," Ms. Bellum replied, plainly embarrassed by her bosses stupidity.

"Oh yeah," the Mayor said. "Then who are you?"

"Oh Mayor, don't you remember John Utonium and I always being dragged here into your office, but because you're such a kind Mayor, you let us off the hook everytime we committed a prank?"

"Oh yes, you and the Professor were the one that defamed my statue once, it was so funny that I had to let you go. Care for a game of Fairies?"

"No thanks Mayor. I have something very serious to talk about. Now, all we have to do is to wait for John and Sandy, oh there they are. Hi Sandy!" he warmly said.

"Nice to see you again, William," Ms. Keane greeted as she shook the doctor's hand.

"Hello John," he said in the coldest, and most unemotional tone he could muster.

Professor Utonium, of course, returned the compliment. "Hi William," he simply said, without any tone at all. "So tell us, what is so important that you have to inconvenience me in such a manner as to hurry me out of my work?"

"Believe me, John, your convenience never ever entered my mind when I called for you. Your comfort is too trite a matter to be considered given the situation that I wish to address. And don't flatter yourself that I even bothered calling you. Your presence here, by itself, was not wished. Rather, your connection with the Powerpuff Girls required me to include you here. Meeting our three other friends, however, is of the greatest pleasure all these years. I did not wish for your company, John. In fact, I even consider the Mayor better company than you."

"And I too. I never went here with the intention with seeing you. It would be too painful for my eyes. The only reason I went here is because you have something of importance to tell me about my girls, and about those wretched boys. So go and tell it, so I may go back to my lab and out of your presence. It so grieves me that I had to get important news from someone like you. And for your information, I'd prefer that crazy monkey's company than yours."

Ms. Keane and Ms. Bellum observed the conversation with shock. Both of them were wondering how such good friends could say such words to each other.

"The feeling's mutual then. Anyway, I'll waste no more time than necessary. Sandy, Sarah, Mayor, John, you know of the events of the past few weeks concerning the appearance of the Rowdyruff Boys, and I have the greatest pleasure in announcing that I am their father because I accidentally recreated them."

There was a minute of silence as each of the four (well three actually, if you exclude the Mayor) processed the information in their brains.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Jennifer had washed herself up. Lucky for her, she had some spare clothes that she brought in her backpack—she was going for a sleep-over after the job—and changed into fresh clean clothes. 'Though I doubt it'll remain clean for long.'

As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, she immediately stepped on some cooking oil and slipped. Her bottom fell hard on the ground.

"Ouch," she said. "Now where are those boys?"

They seem to have disappeared.

"I'll bet they're upstairs," she said and she began ascending the stairs.

However, she didn't notice that the stairs had superglue on it.

As soon as she took two steps, she found out she couldn't move her feet. She then removed her shoes and continued the ascent. Soon, her feet were again stuck, and she was forced to remove her socks. Barefoot, she continued her ascent, and she found out that there isn't anymore glue in the stairs. 'Ha, they forgot to put glue on the rest of the stairs,' she thought as she climbed faster. She didn't notice little jacks on the near the top of the floor.

"Ouch!" she shouted as she stepped on it. Even with the pain, however, she continued. On the top of the stairs, however, there were some marbles. She stepped on it, lose her balance, and fell downstairs back to the first floor.

As soon as she was on her feet again, with her body aching, the lights suddenly went out.

Soon, soft, low, ghostly moans could be heard, and she began to be deathly terrified. Soon, recognizable words could be heard.

"Miss Gates, Miss Gates…" the voice said, ringing throughout the house.

The babysitter just kept shivering. Soon, a floating figure, covered with a great coat, with a mask, came floating towards her.

"Aha, you're no ghost. You're a rowdyruff, and I know you can fly," she said when she realized what was going on.

The 'ghost' continued on towards her.

Gathering her courage, she picked an empty vase and threw it at the ghost. To her horror, it went right through it, and she noticed that what she thought was one of the boys in disguise, was transparent.

"W-w-w-what do you w-w-w-want?" she frighteningly asked.

"You have been bad to the boys!" the 'ghost' boomed.

"No I wasn't! In fact, I've been very good to them!"

"I'll have to do something drastic about it!"

"Please don't! I'll do whatever you want!"

"Whatever I want?"

"Yes!"

"Then I want you to do everything those boys tell you."

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Upstairs…

Brick was speaking into a voice changer device that his father made. "And should not do anything which might make them mad!"

"Yes, yes, anything, just leave me alone," the heard their babysitter say over the security cameras.

"Okay, I'll leave now. But be warned, you must be their babysitter forever and ever, or I'll haunt you in your house and in your dreams."

Butch then turned off the hologram maker, and the ghost disappeared.

Soon they burst out laughing.

"That was a great idea, Brick, with the hologram and voice changer and all!" Boomer congratulated.

"Did you see her freak out? It was so funny," Butch added.

Soon, for the next ten minutes, they just laughed upstairs, telling each other how their babysitter was just funny. In fact, they laughed so hard that they didn't see the babysitter approach them.

"Aha, so it was all a trick," she said, hanging them by the collar by one hand and clutching the voice changer by the other. "And it would have worked too if you didn't laugh so loud."

"Busted!" Boomer said dejectedly.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

After a minute, what Dr. Edwards told registered on Professor Utonium's brain, and he soon got over his shock. He then balled his fists and punched Dr. Edwards in the face. He punched him at the cheek to avoid breaking his glasses. Lucky for Dr. Edwards, he was a large man more than six feet tall, or he would have been knocked out cold. His constitution was such, however, that he only staggered back.

"Why you! The nerve! You wanted revenge on me, so you created those boys to torture me by sending them to beat my girls and to steal their positions in Townsville."

William Edwards then punched the Professor in his face, and he staggered on the floor.

"First of all John, I did not. As I said, you do not deserve my contempt, and certainly not my revenge. No John, my life is not worth ruining over you. Why would I recreate my boys just to send them to kill the girls? Believe me, if I wanted revenge, then I would have done worse things!"

"Liar! Why else would you recreate those evil monsters who we all know is bent upon the girls' destruction?"

"Because, John, I wanted to prove that you're a fraud when you said those girls were made by sugar, spice and everything nice. You may have thought everybody believed you when you said these are the ingredients for those little girls, but I didn't believe a single word of it. So I decided to conduct a little experiment to prove you wrong. I repeated the experiment using snips, snails and a puppy dog's tail plus Chemical Xymperchite. And of course, I expected it to be a failure, but it wasn't. Those boys were recreated as a result of that. I was wrong. You weren't lying about those ingredients, I'll give you that."

"And when you recreated those boys, you decided to use them to get back at me by beating up my poor girls!" Professor Utonium charged.

"First of all, if I used them to gain revenge on you, then I wouldn't have told them not to kill your girls, for what better revenge than taking away those close to you? No, John, I'm not that low. Those boys wanted revenge on those girls even without me encouraging them, and at first, they wanted to kill them. If I let them have their way, then you're girls would be nothing more than a mere memory because this time, kissing won't work."

"Then why, William, did your boys beat up my girls? Twice?"

"As I remember, your girls attacked my boys first, twice. And don't tell me it wasn't so. I've got video evidence that proves that the Powerpuff Girls made the first shot during their first fight."

"That doesn't prove anything. If you know my girls the way you claim you do, then you would know that they would do no such thing."

"You're right. They would do no such thing—_intentionally_. But when those girls saw my boys with those fallen pieces of building hovering over me, they naturally thought that they were attacking me. Combine that with their previous memory of those boys in which they were pure evil, and under Mojo, then you could imagine that they immediately concluded that those boys were making another evil attack upon Townsville. So they attacked them first."

"Then if you say so, why did those boys beat up my girls to a bloody pulp."

"I'm not finished. Those boys during that first fight weren't the good boys they are now. You see, during that time, they have still a lingering hate for your girls that I wasn't able to dispel. That hate was the result of the very first fight when Mojo still controlled them. Now, you must understand, when your girls attacked my boys, my boys thought that they were attacking first, and they reacted the only way they could have—by fighting back. Since my boys at that point were much stronger than your girls, plus the fact that they still hated your girls, they were beaten up horribly. Keep in mind of course, that my boys thought that your girls attacked first."

"But then, if they hated my girls, then they must be evil."

"Not really. If they are still really evil as they used to be at that point, then they wouldn't hesitate to kill your girls. Yes, they still hated the girls when they first fought, but I managed to take away most of the evil in them by that time. And if they were evil, would they hesitate to wreak havoc on Townsville the minute they won?"

"No."

"If they are evil, would they stop a bank robbery soon after?"

"No."

"If they are evil, would they accept my guidance, and act and live like normal boys in my home?"

"No."

"If they are evil, would their hate for the Powerpuff Girls disappear, as they did?"

"No."

"If they are evil, wouldn't they ally with Mojo Jojo, their former creator, and scheme towards taking over Townsville?"

"Yes."

"And did they?"

"No."

"Then are my boys still evil?"

"No, William, no. I must apologize William, for prejudging those boys. I never would have thought they would change for the better. But you seemed to have done the impossible. I'm very sorry. I guess I was so angry at what happened to my girls that I didn't even consider their side. I just made a presumption based on their past, and I was wrong. But that doesn't mean I still don't hate you. My opinion of you didn't change, only of the boys. You're still one of the worst homo sapiens sapiens that ever traversed this earth, though I must congratulate you for managing to change those boys for the better."

"Thanks for believing me. My opinion of you increased considerably because you admitted you were wrong on this matter, though I still think you're still the vilest scum I ever laid my eyes on."

"And William, I'd like to continue the narrative. In the second fight, I'll admit, it was the girls' who attacked the boys first. After the first fight, their self-esteem was dealt a major blow, and they were determined to beat your boys, thinking that they were still evil. They sincerely thought that the town was in danger. So knowing that they were no match at that point, they begged me to train them, which I did after they were fully recovered. When they did, they attacked your boys. I should've let them fight the boys until trained still harder. They were still no match for the boys."

"Wrong, John, wrong. They did catch up with my boys, and during that second fight, they were a match. They lost because my sons used superior tactics and strategy, not because they were stronger or faster. And might I add, during the second fight, they thought that your daughters attacked them for no good reason at all, and they were fighting for their lives."

"Yeah, William, I remember the girls training for increased strength and speed, and rarely for team strategies. I guess your boys really didn't expect them, huh?"

"Not really, they kind of expected them to want a rematch, but only because they want revenge on beating them up the last time. But to my boys, that is still no good reason, because they thought that your girls started the first fight in the first place."

"And after that, I guess the girls, at least Buttercup and especially Blossom, lost much of their self-esteem. But they were still determined that they would defeat your boys after that, especially since they still think that your boys are evil!"

"Well, now at least a big misunderstanding was cleared up," William Edwards said, obviously pleased.

"Yup. Won't be the girls, especially Blossom, be surprised that they've all been barking up the wrong tree all this time?" Professor Utonium remarked.

"And Sandy and Sarah, I'm very sorry if I kept it to all of you in the dark about this matter for so long. I guess I really didn't trust you to believe me when I said that the Rowdyruff Boys would change unless I present proof," Dr. Edwards sincerely said. "I'm sorry if I caused you much stress when I gave you those injured Powerpuffs at your doorstep without giving much explanation.

The two women just listened to the conversation between the two scientists. They really just listened, because they really don't have anything to add, and they were all stunned by all the information that they gathered that night. The Mayor, as usual, didn't care nor understand, and was snoozing in his chair.

"It's all right, William, I understand," Ms. Keane kindly said. "I know now that those kids will become just as good as the girls because you're raising them."

"Thanks."

"And I do too. Welcome to Townsville, William," Ms. Bellum said. "And welcome to the boys too."

"Not so fast, Dr. Edwards," Blossom said. The Powerpuff Girls just appeared at the window.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"Now, you three are in so much trouble. Wait till I tell your Dad," Jennifer remarked. "And when he finds out that you've been bad boys when you promised you'd be good, I can't imagine how angry and disappointed he would be when I tell him just how bad and naughty you have been."

Terror gripped the boys as they imagined their father angry over their misbehavior. "You can't tell Dad!" Butch protested.

"And why not?"

"Because we're just having some fun," Brick said.

"Yeah, couldn't you tell a joke?" Boomer added.

"Well it that case, since it is only fun, then you wouldn't mind me telling your father how much fun you had?"

"No, no, no, please! We'll do anything," Butch pleaded.

"Okay. Now, clean up the mess in the living room and I'll consider keeping it a secret," she suggested.

"We're on it!" they said as they picked up brooms and mops to clean up the messes they made.

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* * *

Twenty minutes later…

The entire house was spic and span, with everything shiny and spotless, not just the living room. One couldn't find a cleaner house in Townsville. Of course, it was no big deal for the boys, as they used their superpowers to help them clean the house, like the Powerpuff Girls. Of course, they sometimes did not know what they were doing, but their babysitter provided direction. But being boys, it being easy did not mean they enjoyed it. No, they disliked every second of it. However, it was better than Miss Gates ratting on their Dad.

"Well, you did good. And because of that, we'll order pizza for dinner."

"Yeah!" all three boys exclaimed.

"Does that mean you won't tell Dad?" Boomer asked.

"No."

"All right! Now I'll order the pizza," Butch said as he picked up the phone and dialled the pizza place.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"Girls!" Dr. Edwards exclaimed in surprise.

"Girls!" the others exclaimed in unison.

The Powerpuff Girls had suddenly arrived at the middle of the meeting in the Mayor's office.

"You're wrong, Dr. Edwards, horribly wrong!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"Those boys are evil," Blossom declared.

"Look girls," Dr. Edwards said. "I know it's hard for you to accept, you being beaten up by the boys and stuff, but it's the truth. Your Professor would confirm this."

"That's right girls," Professor Utonium said. "We had a long talk today, and William here just proved to me that those boys are not evil. They were, but not anymore."

"Not you too Professor!" Buttercup said.

"That's right, girls," Ms. Keane said. "Give them a chance!"

"Et tu, Ms. Keane," Blossom said. "Anyway, if what you say is true, I would like to hear your explanation of why it is so Dr. Edwards, and then I would give my evidence on why those kids were evil."

"Alright, but I must warn you that not all things you're gonna hear is pleasant," he said, and he began his explanation, virtually repeating verbatim his explanations to Professor Utonium to the girls, but he carefully cushioned his words to avoid hurting the girls' feelings more than it was necessary. Basically he said that they were evil and hated the girls when they were recreated, but he managed to change them for the better. As for the first fight, his boys thought that they were the one who attacked first. So they basically just fought back, though he also told them that he had no doubt of the sincerity of the girls in thinking the boys were attacking him, but they just interpreted the situation wrong. Also, he stated that in the second fight, his boys thought that the girls attacked for no reason at all, even though he believed the girls were sincere when they thought that they (the boys) were still evil. He concluded by asking the same questions he asked Professor Utonium which he expected to cinch the argument. And Dr. Edwards did a very good performance, raising and lowering his voice at the appropriate moment, presenting all the facts in logical order that would leave no doubt that the boys were no threat to Townsville and were basically good.

The Powerpuff Girls patiently listened to Dr. Edwards. Bubbles was nearly again persuaded but remembered what Blossom told her a while ago, so she decided to reserve judgment until Blossom gave her reply. Buttercup was confused. She was dazzled by Dr. Edwards' arguments, but like Bubbles, decided to wait for Blossom to back up her beliefs about the boys.

Blossom listened, impressed by him. 'He's a good, he'll make a very good lawyer. He really believes those boys are good, and his making a very good case of it. He'll be shocked at what I tell him, it'll break his heart, but he must learn the truth on his boys.'

"And that's why those boys aren't evil anymore!" Dr. Edwards concluded. "They've changed, and like I said before, just give them the chance."

Bubbles and Buttercup didn't say anything, but waited for Blossom to respond.

"Doctor, you really believed that those boys are good", Blossom began. "And Professor, I can't blame you if you believed it, because I myself would have believed Dr. Edwards if I didn't know what we know about the boys. However, I would like to state that those boys are evil for two reasons."

"Okay Blossom," Dr. Edwards said. He was confident he could refute anything Blossom could say.

"First, those boys are engaged in a massive attempt at deception to fool all those around them. They fooled the town, but most especially, they fooled you, Dr. Edwards. All the while, they pretended to be good boys, saying things that would please you, and doing things that you would like them to do, all to gain your trust."

"But if what you say is true, why would they even bother deceiving me?" asked a perplexed Dr. Edwards.

"Isn't it obvious?" Buttercup suddenly butted in. "You're the richest man in both Townsville and Citisville, you're one of the top scientists of Townsville, and you'd had experience in the government. They want to get what you have, so they made you trust them!"

"Buttercup's right. And they also deceived the entire City of Townsville by pretending to be superheroes…" Blossom continued.

"That's impossible," Dr. Edwards replied. "They were not eager to be one, in fact, they were reluctant to do so. I only persuaded them to do so because it would be the right thing to do."

"Those boys sure made a convincing act," Blossom answered. "Yes, but it is not the circumstance upon which they became superheroes, but the fact itself that matters. It doesn't matter what means they used by which they became crime-fighters because either way, their purpose is served. Anyway, that would explain why they didn't kill us. How could you be superheroes if you murdered the first superheroes in the first place?"

"But why would they engage in such a mass deception?" asked Dr. Edwards. "What possibly could be their purpose?"

"Simple," Buttercup said. "They are engaged in a secret alliance with Mojo Jojo! That explains everything. Even why they delayed their attack. Mojo Jojo and those boys obviously want your technology Dr. Edwards, so they decide to associate with you for as long as possible."

"Okay then, if what you said was true," Dr. Edwards asked sceptically, not believing a word she said, "then could you then reconstruct what happened since they were recreated?"

"Of course!" the pink puff said. "Like you said, you accidentally recreated them. Now, you probably thought that you could make them good—fat chance at that! Anyway, rather than beat you up, they decided to take advantage of what you offered, and they put on a supreme act that fooled you well enough. Anyway, as soon as they got your trust, the first attack occurred. We attacked first, I'll admit, but we knew by instinct they were evil. Anyway they defeated us. Now, after they defeated us, they went to Mojo Jojo…"

"Okay, if what you say was right, why did they wait until after the first fight to go to Mojo?" Professor Utonium, who until now was quietly watching the debate between his daughters and his former best friend.

"It's very simple Professor," Blossom said. "They needed a victory over us to get over the shame of defeat. Now that they defeated us, they can now show their face to Mojo Jojo! Which they did after they've beaten us."

"Hold on a minute!" Dr. Edwards replied. "All what you said is logical and reasonable, but it doesn't hold water if the facts on which you based your premises doesn't exist! All you gave is conjecture and no facts. And you can't give me the behavior before when they were controlled by Mojo Jojo, because I pretty explained that using the facts that I know. Now, we want proof! Clear, positive proof that they are what you say they are, not something based on past suspicion, which is evidently the basis for your entire reasoning! And if you could not back it up, then you're just wasting our time!"

"He's right, Blossom," the Professor said. "You've got to give proof to what you're asserting."

"Of course we have proofs—two uncontestable, undeniable proofs. First of all, Doctor, do you know where your boys went on August 16?"

"Yes, they went to Mojo Jojo's lair. They went to warn him. They basically told him to cease and desist in committing crime."

"Well, tell all of us what exactly happened on that day, Bubbles," she said, turning to her blond sister.

"Well, we got a call from the hotline that Mojo Jojo is at it again, so we went to Town. Well when we arrived, we saw the empty hull of the Robo Jojo. We were puzzled as to what happened, so Blossom told me to go to the volcano top observatory to check on Mojo. Guess what I saw when I got there. I saw the Rowdyruff Boys talking with Mojo Jojo. Mojo said, 'Boys, now that we're together, we can take over Townsville together and destroy the Powerpuff Girls!' and then Brick replied 'Of course, we'll go back to you and together, we can rule all of Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls,' and I said 'Oh no! Townsville is in big trouble,' and I hurried back to tell my sisters what I just saw."

Dr. Edwards was devastated when he heard that. He didn't know this, and because of that, he wasn't prepared to answer this evidence. The confidence in his face was gone, to be replaced by an expression of dread and horror that he could lose his case for his boys. But he rapidly regained his outside composure, though inside he isn't sure anymore.

"Bubbles," the doctor cross-examined. "Are you sure of what you heard?"

"Yes Doctor, it was as clear as day," Bubbles said.

'That clinched it!' Dr. Edwards thought. 'Everyone knows that Bubbles never lies.'

"Maybe they were just being sarcastic," Dr. Edwards suggested, frantically trying to find an excuse for the words of his son. 'It's lame, but what else could I say?'

"That could be true," Blossom said, aware that she was now in control of the conversation, "if it were not for evidence number two. The next day, August 17, we arrested Mojo Jojo. Then we searched for those boys, and when we did, we attacked them."

"Of course," Bubbles added, "your boys were honestly right in thinking that we thought they attacked them for no reason, because they didn't know that we knew that we heard them."

"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted," Blossom continued, glaring at Bubbles, "Dr. Edwards, what is the most damning evidence that could be given?"

"A confession," Dr. Edwards replied.

"Then by your own standards, the Rowdyruff Boys incriminated themselves."

"What do you mean?" asked Professor Utonium.

"Well, we attacked them and accused them of scheming with Mojo, and you know what, they freakin' admitted it to our faces!" Buttercup declared.

"What! Now why would they do such a thing like that?" Dr. Edwards demanded, his outburst concealing his dread.

"Yes, they admitted to us that they were scheming with Mojo Jojo, and Blossom and Bubbles could back me up on this. I can even quote them, if you want," Buttercup said.

"That's not necessary," Dr. Edwards replied with a weak voice. This latest revelation disconcerted him further, though by a supreme effort of self-control, was able to make an appearance of outward calm. "I believe you."

"Yes, doctor," Blossom continued. "If what you say is true, Doctor, that they were good, then why would they admit to us that they are scheming with Mojo, virtually admitting to us that they were still evil? The answer is that because they're not good at all, but they're evil. What good person would admit they're evil unless they are really evil? They really are evil, Dr. Edwards, and you were just being used by them, and you didn't know it. And all my conclusions that I said at the beginning all stems from these two facts, so they are based on evidence, not mere conjecture. And this effectively refutes your earlier arguments, Dr. Edwards."

Dr. Edwards was crushed. It isn't that he didn't think they weren't evil, rather that he could not say anything to defend the actions of his boys. 'Why the hell did you do this, Brick, Butch, Boomer, and keep it from me? I know you are still good, and you showed it to me more than once, but what I could say? Anything you said to me could be dismissed by Blossom as an act of deception, though I just know you are not lying, yet I could not prove it. Why the hell did you have to say those stupid things.'

As a last recourse, he asked his companions. "John?"

"Sorry William, but Blossom just convinced me that those boys are evil. They haven't changed William, they just made the appearance of it to fool us all. I might have believed you if Bubbles had not overheard that conversation they had with Mojo and those Boys admitting to the girls their plan. Sorry, but those boys has got to go."

"Sarah?"

"Sorry William, Blossom's right. Those girls never lie in such matters. Those boys are a danger to society. I'm very sorry, but I'm going to cancel the withdrawal of previous charges and issue an arrest order for them tomorrow."

"Sandra?"

"I'm sorry, but Blossom's right. I'm very sorry."

"Et tu Sandra?" Dr. Edwards, said. His entire plans for the future of his sons were now ruined, and their reputations forever destroyed.

"Don't take it too bad," Bubbles said, comforting him. "We're not blaming you. We don't hate you. We'll forgive you for whatever you did, for I'm sure you only did it because you thought it was right."

"Yeah, we only pity you because…" Blossom began.

"I don't need your pity and I certainly don't need your forgiveness nor your sympathy!" Dr. Edwards said, rather shouted, with rage. His face was twisted into a deep anger, and his eyes were on fire, the emotions that he so tried to conceal now out. Every indication showed that his pride reasserted itself, and threw any thought of begging for his boys further. "I know my boys better than any of you, and I certainly know that they are not any of that which you described them to be, and I'm sure they're not doing what you think they're doing. Yes, Blossom, I believe what you saw is true, because I know Bubbles was not lying, but there is a perfectly reasonable explanation to all of them! However, your prejudice against my boys was such that you couldn't fathom an explanation other than that which would make them even more evil, even against the obvious! Yes, your theory is reasonable and supported by evidence, but it doesn't make it true. And Sarah, don't bother with the warrant. I'm leaving Townsville forever at the first of September, and you'll never see us here again, since I see that my boys could not live in peace here, no matter what they do, and could only have a troubled future."

"Wait, you can't just leave like that, you'll be breaking the law if you let them escape!" Professor Utonium said.

"Watch me!" Dr. Edwards contemptuously replied. "You've still got nothing on my boys, and you can't arrest me because you certainly got nothing against me. And if you arrest my boys, then I'll bring every high priced lawyer that money can buy to defend them and assure their release, and I won't hesitate to use my wealth and my influence to affect the outcome. And if worst comes to worst, I'll bust them out of jail myself!"

He said every word with venom and bitterness, and his face was full of rage. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, goodnight, and goodbye forever!" He then took his coat and hat, and walked out the door.

'Those boys has got some explaining to do,' he thought as he exited the building.

Ms. Keane, Professor Utonium and Ms. Bellum looked at the retreating figure of the Doctor. Where once they looked at him with admiration on having changed the boys, they now looked at him with pity at having been outwitted and fooled by the boys.

"Poor Dr. Edwards," Blossom said. "He's so attached to the boys that he's blind to what they really are inside." 'Well, phase I of my plan went well. Now time for phase 2.'

* * *

**Author Thanks**

To **nightglider_star,** well, how could not review a good story such as yours? Your stories are really great, and so original too. Well, you've just read a pretty long chapter, I hope it inspire you more. To **Uncle Sam,**well this chapter pretty much answers whether or not Dr. Edwards did well in the meeting. As for Blossom and Buttercup, I wouldn't call them selfish, rather sincerely wrong. Yup, Bubbles has right instincts, and as for the babysitter, you already read that above. To **Ud the Imp,**glad you think that. I really had a hard time thinking that title, and I chose it because I want to upload chapter 11 immediately, and don't want to spend the entire day thinking a chapter name. Well, I think it was appropriate. Yup, Blossom's single-mindedness about the matter just shows in this chapter in the following ones. As for Mojo, I definitely agree with you there. And the situation just got more f****d up in this chapter. To**TJ Rose,**and it got even more complicated in this chapter too. Yup, there are no more secrets, but the girls still don't understand the doctor with regards to the boys. Yup, they knew the truth, but completely misinterpreted the entire situation. As for everything turning out all right, it's too early to say it yet. Poor Babysitter, though she handled it well enough in this chapter. To **Hairy Gregory**, yup, it didn't, and after you read this chapter, you'll know that it became worst. As to how they will feel, this chapter pretty much tells it all, though the next chapters would give deeper insight on how the others felt about this. As for the truth of the nonconnection of the RRB and Mojo Jojo, sad to say it got more complicated and is no nearer to being resolved at the time of the uploading of this chapter. To **DL23400,**Blossom's explanation above is what she used to persuade Bubbles they were evil. To **Firestarter10388**, wow, I never would have guessed you were Bubblebean22. Thanks for reading. And last but not least, to **Dooly.** Wow, I'm surprised you've read my story. I really liked Dreamstone. Anyway, thanks for reading a very long story. Thanks for liking it. I've read many RRB fics out there, and I try to make this fic different. I hope I've succeeded. And it's good to hear that this is fun to read. I've been fearing that the length of this one would make my fic tedious and not fun to read. Yup, and for the fight scenes, thanks too. As for morals on the family and not on society as a whole, the reason I used this because it would make much more sense than if they suddenly become goody-two shoes superheroes like the PPG suddenly concerned with the people and town after just coming over from the evil side. Yup, Dr. Edwards used the loyalty of his boys, as I explained in the _**Mojo Theory**_, to change them for the better, and it seemed to be working. As for the girls underestimating the boys, you got it right on every point. And whether or not Blossom will improve their team strategy will be seen in the next chapters. Of the truth coming out, it just got more complicated, as you just read if you read chapter 12. As for the Professor Utonium stealing Dr. Edwards' chemical X, I agree that that was the weakest part of the story, as it runs so counter to the image of the Professor in the show. But my premise, based on the chapter where the girls traveled back in time, _Get_ _Back Jojo_ where the Professor Utonium is not the nice kid we thought he once was, but rather a bad boy. My premise for this story is that both he and Dr. Edwards were friends during their youth, both wild and loose on morals, but changed at or after college. Anyway, I'll try to add more depth to his character in future chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading.


	13. Brick's Apology

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

**Chapter 13**

**Brick's Apology**

* * *

The City of Townsville, and in Dr. Edwards' suburban house, the boys and their babysitter just ate thirty one boxes of family sized pizza. Butch and Boomer each ate twelve boxes apiece, while Brick, with a lesser appetite than his brothers, just ate six boxes. The babysitter just ate the remaining one.

"Wow," Miss Gates remarked. "I have never seen anybody eat that much!"

"It's because of our faster metabolism," Boomer explained. "We can eat as much as twelve pizzas because our stomach can digest it fast and turn it into energy. It's the result of chemical X and our unique ingredients, Dad said. Although much of it isn't needed and we can eat just the same amount as normal humans, it's still more fun to eat your maximum," he said, rubbing his stomach with satisfaction.

"Okay, what do we do now?" asked Butch.

"Well, we could play a game," Miss Gates suggested.

"Oh I know!" Brick suggested. "Let's play detective. Miss Gates here would be the nosy detective, and we're terrorists who plan to bomb, ah, one of the rooms in this house. Boomer is her partner. Now, both of you close your eyes while Butch and I hide. Now you have to find us in fifteen minutes or the whole house goes kaboom! Here are the rules. Each of us has toy guns that can shoot rubber darts, and those that get shot must pretend to be unconscious for five minutes."

"That sounds like fun!" the fifteen year old remarked, and she and Boomer closed their eyes.

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Two minutes later…

"Now, here's your gun, and here's mine. Let's go to that room first and find those terrorists," Boomer suggested.

Both of them entered the room and they caught Brick and Butch planting 'bombs'.

"Now, hands up!" she shouted.

"Okay, we surrender!" both of them shouted.

"Now, that was easy—hey, why you little!" Miss Gates complained after she was shot in the back by none other than Boomer.

"Sorry, but they paid me higher than those government guys we worked for!" Boomer said.

"You'll never get away with this," she shouted as she slumped to the ground pretending to be unconscious. 'At least they're going to get it after five minutes,' she thought.

"Now what'll we do with her?" Boomer asked his confederated.

"Let's tie her up and set up a time bomb!" Butch suggested.

"Good idea," Brick said. Soon, she was carried into another room with a post in the middle of it, and her hands tied tightly behind it. Her feet followed, followed lastly by a gag, which they put by inserting a clean handkerchief on her mouth then covering it with duct tape. They then wrapped more rope around her body and the post.

Soon, the five minutes was over and she pretended to wake up.

"So you're awake, Miss Gates," Brick said turning into terrorist mode. "Since you knew too much, we had no choice but to dispose of you. In ten minutes, you will be no more after this time bomb explodes. Ha, ha, ha!"

The boys then left the room. "Sucker," Butch said as soon as she was out of hearing range.

"Yeah, now we could enjoy the rest of the evening till Dad arrives without any babysitter bossing us around," Boomer remarked.

"So what do we do now?" asked Brick.

"Well, I don't know. Let's just watch TV. Hey, it's time for our favorite show!" Boomer replied.

Soon, the three are on the sofa watching TV, forgetting about Miss Gates.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile, two hours later…

"Mmmppphhhh!" she said, but it barely got past the room. 'What the heck is taking them so long?' Miss Gates complained. She was shouting, but the gag was so effective. 'Those boys do know how to tie a knot,' she said as she wriggled again in a futile effort to get free, but the ropes held firm. 'Oh, they are going to get it when I get free, superhero or not!'

Downstairs, the boys were watching TV when their father arrived.

"Boys, where's Miss Gates?" William Edwards demanded.

"Ah, she's upstairs. She's kinda tied up right now!" Brick explained.

"Well, tell her to come down here!"

"Right on it," the three said.

"Now we're going to get it," Boomer dejectedly said.

"Yeah, but it's worth it!" Butch replied.

"Yeah, that was fun!" Brick added.

Soon, they entered the room, where they saw their babysitter just staring at the pictures at the wall of the room. As soon as she saw the boys, she began streaming curses from her mouth, but it only came out as mmmppphhhsss.

"Hello. We're the police and we've come to rescue you," Brick declared.

"Yeah, and we just caught the terrorist. But it took us hours to torture them so we can find out where they hid you," Boomer added.

"Good thing those terrorist only knew how to make dud bombs, or you'd be toast, literally," Butch said, holding the 'bomb.'

Soon, they untied her, and to their surprise, she didn't shout or cuss at them after her gag was removed. "That was fun! Though you didn't have to take two hours to find and untie me!" she said, nearly shouting.

'So she doesn't suspect a thing,' Brick thought.

"Anyway, Dad has arrived and he wants to see you," Boomer said.

She went downstairs where he saw Dr. Edwards waiting impatiently.

"Sorry for taking so long," Miss Gates apologized.

"No need for apologies. Now, here's a hundred dollars. Will that be enough?" he asked as he handed her a hundred dollar bill.

"More than enough," she said, doing her best not to scream for joy.

"And you'll be available whenever I need a babysitter?"

"Yes sir!"

"Are the boys any trouble?"

"No. At least nothing I couldn't handle!"

"Okay, thanks!"

"Your welcome," she said as she left the house.

"Now, Boys," Dr. Edwards said, his expression changing from forced pleasantness to a very serious and scary expression. His gray eyes showed through his thick glasses that he was enraged. He removed his hat, and in place of the usually nicely combed brown hair, it was dishevelled. His face was haggard, showing that he hadn't had a very good night.

"Why did you tell Mojo Jojo that you were in alliance with him and are planning to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, and admitted it to the girls before the second fight? Don't deny it, I know. And this time, tell me the truth!" he said in a grave, serious and threatening tone that made his sons quiver.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"Now, John, you've got some explaining to do!" Ms. Keane said as she pointed an accusing finger at Professor Utonium.

"Well, the boys—"

"Not the boys, we already know that! What we want to know is why you and William acted the way you acted? I thought you were best friends!"

"Well, we we're not friends anymore," the Professor said. "Something happened in college that severed our friendship."

"What happened?" Ms. Bellum asked.

"I cannot discuss it without William because I would only be biased towards myself and against him if I do. Sorry, but I can't tell it without him here to give his side of the story," Professor Utonium explained. "It's only fair."

"I feel sorry for William," Ms. Keane remarked. "I mean he was so fond of those boys, and they turned out to be little devils. And he still couldn't accept the fact. Oh, I can't imagine how he would react when he finds out that he has been all wrong about his boys all this time."

"And," Blossom added, "that only proves how evil those boys were. If they had any decency in them, they would have considered how Dr. Edwards would feel once he found out. But no, they twisted his feelings to get what they want—his wealth and technology. I was even thinking that they could trick him into giving much more sophisticated machines to Mojo. Good thing we found out before they could do it. Who know how much damage Mojo and the boys could do if they got hold of his wealth, which I reckon runs into the hundreds of millions, and his technology, which is awesome?"

"Well, it would be harder now that we know it, and Dr. Edwards is at least suspicious," Ms. Bellum added. "Poor William!"

"Well, we better go home now," Professor Utonium said, glancing at his watch, showing it to be about ten in the evening. "It's late and the girls have got to go to bed."

"Ah, Professor, do we have to?" Buttercup whined.

"Yeah, we have to keep an eye for those boys and—" Blossom began but was interrupted by the Professor.

"Blossom, you can't save the day if you don't have a good night's rest," he firmly said.

"But—" Blossom began.

"No buts! Now let's go home," the Professor said as he headed for his car. "Goodbye, Sandy, Sandra, and Mayor."

"Bye," Ms. Keane said.

"Take care! Bye Girls," Ms. Bellum said.

"Bye Girls," the Mayor said, who was now awake and was again killing his own fairy in his video game. "Darn Fairy!"

"Bye!" all three said in unison, and they exited the building.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

The boys looked at their father in abject terror. They never have seen their father quite like this. And to make it worst, their father had discovered their secret.

"Well, we never did—" Brick began.

"LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T!" Dr. Edwards shouted. "Bubbles saw you the day before your second fight, and Mojo Jojo proposed an alliance to you to join forces to take over Townsville, and you accepted. Now, explain yourselves."

"Dad, it wasn't true, honest!" Butch pleaded, looking at his sceptical father. "What we told you that day was what really happened!"

"LIAR!" Dr. Edwards shouted. "We all know Bubbles never lies. Now tell me what really happened!"

"Dad," Brick suddenly said, now so terrified that his knees were shaking. "I remember now. Here's the whole truth."

"It'd better be," Dr. Edwards declared. "I don't want anymore lies from you boys."

"Well, Mojo did propose to us that we join forces to take over the city and destroy the girls," admitted Brick. "And we kinda said yes, but not really."

"Explain," the angry doctor demanded of his son.

"Well, we were only being sarcastic. I basically said, 'Sure Mojo, we'll do it,' but after a few seconds, I said, 'not on your lifetime, you crazy simian.' Bubbles must have heard only the statement where I was _sarcastically_agreeing with Mojo, but left before I told Mojo to take a hike. She probably didn't notice my sarcasm. That's the truth, Dad, honest! Please believe me!" he desperately said.

"I believe you," Dr. Edwards said. "It makes much more sense than Blossom's explanation."

"What explanation of Blossom's?" asked Boomer, curious.

"I'll tell you that later," Dr. Edwards replied. "Now on another matter. What the hell were you damned thinking when you admitted to them that you were in alliance with that freakish monkey?" he basically shouted, again frightening his sons.

"Well, we were attacked by those girls while we were playing volleyball using an iron ball. At first, we had thought that they attacked us because they wanted to get back to us for because of what we did during the first fight," Brick began.

"Yeah, and so we thought that they attacked us for no good reason at all, because to us, that is no good reason at all to attack us from behind without any warning!" Boomer added.

"That's basically what they did," Brick continued. "We were furious at our game being interrupted by those impertinent girls, though we figured out they would want another fight because of the last one. We were surprised by their manner of attack, however. Boomer's right. They attacked us from behind, and we naturally complained to them. That is when they accused us of being in alliance with Mojo. We thought they were crazy, or delusional, or something. Now we know why they accused us of such."

"And you admitted it to them, even if it was clearly not true," Dr. Edwards said coldly.

"Yes, I was the one who admitted it," Brick said, looking at the floor, unable to look his father at the eye.

"And I'm assuming you did not know the consequences of such an action when you did it," Dr. Edwards asked.

"No Dad, I was fully aware of the consequences of my actions at the time of the second fight. I admitted it to the girls despite it," Brick replied. He knew that by admitting so, he was admitting that he was very stupid.

Dr. Edwards looked in amazement at his sons' stupidity. "How the HELL could you be so stupid, so careless, so irresponsible? I thought you had enough common sense in you Brick?"

Brick just looked at the ground, unable to reply. He knew every word of his father was right.

Butch looked guiltily at his brother. "No Dad, Brick was wrong. I was the one who admitted to the girls…"

Before he could finish, he was tackled on the ground and a hand clamped over his mouth. "Don't listen to him Dad," Brick frantically said. "He had nothing to do with it. It was all my fault, and you shouldn't blame Butch or Boomer," he said, making a fake smile at his Dad.

"Get off me!" Butch shouted at his brother. "And stop covering for me! Dad, I was the—"

He was again prevented from finishing his statement when Brick clamped his hand over his brother's mouth. Butch fought his brother's attempt at gagging, and soon, a full-blown brawl occurred at Dr. Edwards' feet. Boomer just stood there, watching with interest. And it might have gone worse if Dr. Edwards, whose anger has been building up each moment that his patience had slipped, had not stopped the pointless fight.

"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP IT AND SHUT UP!" he shouted, very angry. Both boys stopped fighting.

"He started it!" both pointed at each other, which was ironic, because they started the fight because each wanted to take the blame for admitting that they were in alliance with Mojo to the Girls.

"Now, Brick, stop trying to stop your brother from talking. Now Butch, what happened?"

"But Dad, Butch—"

"Brick, shut up and let your brother talk!"

Butch stuck his tongue out at Brick and began his narrative. "Actually Dad, it was I who first admitted that we were in an alliance with Mojo. Brick and Boomer just went along. And I didn't know the consequences of my action."

"Is that true Boomer?" his father asked his blond son to confirm which of the two is telling the truth.

"Yes Dad. Butch was the one who first admitted it and Brick and I just went along."

"And why Brick, did you not stop your brother from telling such a stupid lie?"

"Because I thought he knew what he was doing," said Brick. "I thought he had something up his sleeve."

"And why exactly did you did this, Butch?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Because Dad, I don't want them to know the truth if they're too dumb to figure it out for themselves," Butch said. "At that time, and still, we didn't like them, and thought, why should I correct them if I they're so stupid as to make such a dumb assertion? I thought, they're unworthy to know the truth about us, and so I admitted it to them. And if they're so smart, they would have figured out that I was bluffing the whole time I said that!"

"And Brick, why didn't you correct your brother's mistake when you clearly know it wasn't such a hot idea?"

In five short words, Brick summarized the feelings of the boys about the matter that caused so much trouble.

"We were too proud to."

Dr. Edwards looked at his son in anger and at the same time sympathy. He was reminded of so much of himself when his son said those five words. He was also a proud person, and would rather die than humble himself before anybody. 'I would've done the same thing if I were them. But still, it was an incredibly stupid thing to do.'

"YOU WERE TOO PROUD TOO!" Dr. Edwards shouted. "Did you know the real consequences of such a stupid action? Did you know what I just went through a while ago? I was trying to convince the Mayor, his assistant, and Professor Utonium to accept you, but I was instead humiliated as I was made to look like a fool, a sucker! You say you're too proud to, did you consider the damage to my pride as I was listening to why I was wrong in thinking you're worth accepting because I didn't know you actually lied to keep your pride? What's much worse is that I knew them to be wrong, but because of your stupid mistake, I can't prove it to them! Didn't I say a while back that 'if you've made an honest mistake, or did something deliberately wrong and regretted it, always apologize. It's not good for somebody to be disliked or hated because of wrong reasons, and it's even worse for you to be disliked for some stupid mistake on your part. If you made an honest mistake, quickly correct it, even if it means apologizing!' Did you not consider these when you said what you said to the Powerpuff Girls? You should have swallowed your pride at that time because not doing so would result in an even greater wound to one's pride than if you temporarily swallowed it."

"Dad, what exactly did happen today?" Bricked asked, trembling.

"Shut up, boy! When I'm talking, don't speak unless asked. As for your question, those girls managed to convince everyone in the Mayor's office that you are in alliance with Mojo Jojo and are planning to take over Townsville! And that all you've been doing is just a big act to fool me into thinking you were good, so you can use my wealth and machines for your evil designs, and you were pretending to be superheroes to fool the rest of Townsville! Now what have you to say for yourself because you brought it upon yourselves by making that lie?"

"Dad, you know that's not true," Boomer pleaded, on the verge of tears. "And another purpose of us doing superhero stuff even though we don't want to is to convince those girls that we were just bluffing, that it was just a stupid lie. We thought that if we show that we're not really evil, they would realize it, because actions speak louder than words."

"You stupid brats! You irresponsible whelps! You foolish boys! You forgot to consider the narrow-mindedness of those girls," Dr. Edwards replied sharply, still with a loud voice and with an angry tone. "It might have worked for the rest of Townsville, but those girls didn't even consider it because they saw didn't see the sarcasm of your conversation with Mojo, and then you admitted it to them, so how can they see it your way? Yes, I know it's not true, that what the Powerpuff Girls accuse you of is pure nonsense, but tell that to those guys!"

Boomer this time couldn't stand it anymore, and he burst into tears, crying his heart out. Dr. Edwards, however, was unmoved.

"Dry your tears, Boomer, don't waste it on me. You brought this upon yourselves and you three deserved every word of reproach I gave you. Because of this we'll have to move out of Townsville in September 1. Now, go to your rooms and think about what you did."

At once, the three went to their rooms, Boomer crying all the way, while Brick and Butch kept keeping a straight face.

"Oh stop bawling and take it like a man!" Butch said in a low voice. "Dad's right. We deserve every harsh word he said to us. It's all our fault!"

"Yeah, I know. But I felt so bad because we have to leave Townsville, and it's all our fault!" Boomer said, sniffling. "And Dad never said such cruel words to us before!"

"Well, we deserve it," Brick bitterly said, angry, not at his father, but at himself. "If I hadn't let that damned pride of mine get in the way, then none of this would have happened! How foolish of me to depend on our actions to tell the truth to the girls. Dad's right. It just made the situation worst and wounded our pride even more. Apologizing earlier would scratch our pride, but what happened now tore it apart!"

"By the way, Brick," Butch asked. "Why did you try to take the entire blame for yourself?"

"Because I'm the leader," Brick asserted. "A leader should always take responsibility for the actions of his men, no matter how wrong-headed that might be. I'd be a pretty sorry leader if I didn't. A leader not only takes credit for victory, but blame, no matter how unfair, for defeat. Let's just say I did it not because I don't want you in trouble, but because I want to. Besides, it's really my fault. You didn't know what you're doing, and you hadn't had a clue on the effects. I knew, and I let you do it. I should've apologized to those girls."

"Don't give me that," Butch said, ashamed. "You wouldn't have to do all of that if I hadn't made that stupid bluff in the first place."

"And we're going to leave!" Boomer added. "I like Townsville!"

"I like it too, but what can we do?" Brick said to his blond brother. "Our reputation's forever ruined in Townsville, and we have no choice."

"Yeah, and Dad's pretty scary when he's angry!" Butch added.

"You got that right, I've never seen him like that, he's even scarier than all those monsters we fought this past week," Brick said as he shuddered as he remembered the wrath of his father when he was angry. This was the very first time they got a peek at Dr. Edwards' temper. "Remind me to never do anything that would make him angry!"

"And his voice is so loud," Boomer added, "that the entire City could probably hear him!"

"Don't remind me! Don't remind me!" shrieked Butch, trembling at the recent memory.

"Well, we sure learned something tonight," Boomer dejectedly said.

"Yeah, never make a lie when you know it could lead to something worst!" Brick said.

"You've got that right!" Butch agreed.

"Yup, Dad said it just after the second fight. Well, Dad's always right, and he just proved it awhile ago," Boomer said.

"So what do we do now?" asked Butch.

"I dunno. How about some crank calls?" Brick suggested.

"Yeah, that would be very cool!" Boomer said as he picked up the phone and dialled a random number.

* * *

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* * *

One hour later, at about ten in the evening…

Boomer, Butch and Brick were laughing at the reactions of their victims on the phone, when they heard Dr. Edwards approaching their room.

"Shut up, you two!" Brick ordered. "I don't want to get into more trouble tonight."

The other two stopped laughing. Seconds later, their father entered the room, his face no longer the scary expression earlier that night. And his face was much more calm.

"Boys, I'm sorry if I said any harsh words a while ago," Dr. Edwards said. "It's just that I usually act this way when I get extremely angry. I realize now that I shouldn't have said or used those words to you after I have had time to cool down and think things through."

"You have every right to say those words to us," Brick conceded. "It's all our fault."

"Anyway, I'd like to talk to you. The reason you said is that you were too proud to. Well, there's nothing wrong with having pride—in fact you should have it. But you must weigh the consequences of your actions against it, and if you must swallow it, then do it. You do realize now the consequences of your actions, right?"

"Yes Dad. And we're sorry." All three said in unison.

"I forgive you, but you made a very big blunder. I'll have to punish you or you won't learn. Do you understand?"

"Yes Dad," Brick replied, speaking for all his brothers.

"Now, for your punishment, as soon as we move back to Citiesville, you are grounded for one month. Brick, for trying to lie to me about Butch's involvement, you are grounded for an extra two weeks. And I won't hire a housekeeper like I used to. You will have to clean the house yourselves for the entire period you're grounded, and for every day that I go home from work and find the house a mess, a day will be added to your punishment, am I clear?"

"Yes Dad," the boys said in unison. They breathe a sigh of relief. They had expected worse punishment. 'It wasn't too bad,' Brick told himself.

"And, you have to apologize to those girls tonight. Tell them that you lied about you allying with Mojo Jojo, and that you regret it and its effects," the doctor said.

"But what if they don't believe us?"

"Well, then, the ball's in their court," Dr. Edwards replied. "If they don't believe you, that's their problem, not yours. If they do something stupid even after you explained it clearly to them, then it's their fault for not believing in you. At least you have a clear conscience after that. And remember what I told you about apologizing?"

"Yes Dad, we remember," Boomer said. "Only apologize once for the same offense, and never twice because the first time tells you you're sorry, and the second one is just to please the ego of the one you're apologizing to."

"But Dad, we can't apo…" Brick began.

"I wasn't asking you to apologize, I was telling you to do it. Now am I clear?'

"Yes Dad," Brick replied. 'I was wrong. It is that bad.'

"Good," Dr. Edwards said, when his watch beeped.

"Doctor, there's a monster attack upon Townsville, this is Alpha Questor, over!"

"Another one? Thanks, Herbert. Now boys there's a monster attack in Towsville, and you need to take care of it. Butch, Boomer, can you handle the monster by yourselves?"

"No sweat Dad!" Boomer said, though Butch looked none too pleased.

"Brick, while your brothers deal with the monster, you go to the home of the Powerpuff Girls and apologize personally to those girls. And I want a true apology."

"Yes Dad," Brick answered.

"Good. Now go!"

Before they flew to their respective assignments, Boomer asked his father a question.

"Dad, do you still love us and still proud of us?"

"Yes son, I still love you three, and I'm very proud of you. I'm just not proud of what you've done, now scat!"

"Thanks Dad!" Boomer said as he dashed off to meet the monster.

* * *

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* * *

When Boomer and Butch arrived at Townsville, it was a blazing inferno. The entire section of the city facing the beach was on fire, while the rest of the city was packed with fleeing people. Luckily, the people were able to evacuate the buildings at the first sign of a monster attack, and nobody died. There were, however, tons of property damage.

To the boys' horror, they discovered that there were not one, but four incredibly powerful monsters attacking Townsville. One looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex but with longer forearms and five claws. It was as tall as a skyscraper. The second one was a flying lizard, the same size as the first monster. It had a very broad winspan, but also powerful claws. It also breaths fire, and it was what caused Townsville to be caught on fire. The third one was made of some green acidic goo. Anything in contact with its skin dissolved. The fourth one was one giant monster with a body of a bull, and a head of a hammerhead. It was slow but was compensated by a massive weight and a hide nearly as though as diamonds. It destroys mainly by its tail, which was light enough for it to be easily moved.

"Whoa!" Butch said, his fighting instinct thoroughly aroused as he looked forward to a good fight.

"This sucks," Boomer said as he saw the monsters.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"Do you think we should have snuck out?" asked Bubbles. "I mean won't the professor get mad?"

They had just snuck out of their house after the Professor tucked them in bed.

"Well, we have to sneak out in order to implement phase 2 of our plan to rid Townsville of the Rowdyruff Boys," Blossom explained.

"Yeah, and the whole town will see them as the phonies they really are!" Buttercup said. "Hey, who's that?" she asked as she saw a red beam of light approaching them.

"Well, if it isn't Brick, leader of the Rowdyruff Boys," Blossom said, recognizing her male counterpart, "and he's coming without his brothers!" She then smiled sadistically at the thought.

"What does he want?" asked Buttercup.

"We'll soon find out!" Bubbles said as Brick arrived and stopped when he saw that the girls were in hearing range.

Brick Edwards proudly looked at the Girls. "Isn't it a little late for little girls like you to be out this late at night!"

"And isn't it a little late for little boys like you to be out this late at night?" Blossom retorted.

"I'm not going to waste much of my time here," Brick declared. "I am Brick Edwards, and I came here to say that what you heard, Bubbles, when I told Mojo Jojo that we should ally and take over Townsville is just sarcasm, and if you stuck around much longer, you would have heard the entire conversation and you would know that it was just sarcasm. Now, Butch admitting that we were in alliance with Mojo Jojo is a purely stupid lie. And I supported it by agreeing to it. No, we were not in any alliance with Mojo, and I _apologize_ for lying to you, for deceiving you for so long. Yes, it was stupid, dishonest, and downright wrong. What you heard us say that day was pure bluff, or a lie, or a deception. We are not, I repeat, we are not in alliance with Mojo, and we are not planning to take over Townsville. And we certainly had no intention of deceiving our father and Townsville. What my dad, Dr. Edwards, said to you tonight was the entire truth."

He said it with his head high, his tone not showing the remotest sign of sincerity or humility, thought inside he was very sincere. To him, apologizing alone would be enough proof of sincerity, and he felt no compunction to act like a penitent when his words would just say as much. He can't stand apologizing to anyone other than his Dad and brothers if he could help it, and he wouldn't even think about acting it. Saying it was enough.

"Why should we believe you?" asked an unbelieving Blossom.

"Because what I told you undermines the entire foundation of your ridiculous theory, and therefore, you have no proof of us being in alliance with Mojo Jojo. Therefore, we are not evil, as you insist, and that makes us more trustworthy, don't you think?"

"You may have fooled Townsville, and you may have fooled Dr. Edwards," Blossom began, but you're not fooling us! For by your own words, you admitted you are liars, and since you are liars, how can I believe your words now?"

"Yes, we were liars when we admitted our non-existent alliance with Mojo," Brick admitted, "but the evidence itself overwhelmingly support our contention that your theory is absurd. If it was true, why would we admit it to you if we want to keep the entire operation concealed?!"

"Common criminals always carelessly boast about their plans before its execution," Buttercup replied. "Don't tell it isn't so, we foiled so many crimes when the criminals unintentionally babbled their plans."

"You do me a great injustice Buttercup. Not only are you implying that I am a criminal, which I am certainly not, you are putting me in a league with pathetic losers who had not a shred of intellect. If I have such a plan, I would certainly not permit Butch to carelessly boast about it, nor would he be that stupid."

"Ha! You're a good liar, Brick Edwards," Blossom retorted, "but not good enough. Your entire apology is a lie, with the intent on deceiving us. But we know what you're really up to. No, no, no. Bubbles saw you with Mojo, and we're not stupid enough to buy your explanation about you being sarcastic. I might have bought your explanation had not Bubbles saw you in Mojo's lab making an alliance with him, and your boasting in front of us confirmed that. No Brick. You and your brothers won't get away that easy. Unless you do what we tell you to do, you would pay dearly for what you've done."

"I'm afraid," he mockingly said. "And what should I do?"

"First, surrender yourselves to the police and confess your crimes," Blossom began. "Then make a public address confessing your deception of the citizens of Townsville and tell them about your plans with Mojo. Third, call Dr. Edwards and tell him that you've been deceiving him all this time, and tell him your true intentions. If you do this, I promise you a fair trial, although the chances of acquittal are pretty slim, given that you just confessed everything and everybody would be a witness against you."

"Sure, I'd love to do what you are forcing me to do. When do we start," Brick sarcastically replied. "Of course I'd rather pay the price—whatever it is—than do what you want me and my brothers to do. I would not humiliate myself by admitting such an outrageous lie. No, I have my pride, and I won't lower myself to you on my knees to beg for your forgiveness. No, you're not worth it. No, I had made my apology, and it's up to you to accept it or not and to tell you the truth, I don't give a damn if you accept it or not! I'll warn you though, that anything that you do from now on due to this would be entirely your fault, as I tried to enlighten you to the truth. And if you want a fight, I must warn you that you would have to strike the first blow, and have the responsibility for any consequence of it."

"Enough of this talk!" Buttercup shouted. "It's clear that you won't budge, so now, we'll have to force it from you by kicking your butt!"

'This detracts from phase two of my plan,' Blossom thought, 'but it makes it much easier.' She then smiled at Brick.

Then the Powerpuff Girls attacked the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys.

The third clash between the Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls had begun, and Brick was all alone in fighting the three Powerpuffs, his brothers busy fighting the four monsters.

* * *

**Author Thanks**

To **Ud the Imp,** thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter. Well, the situation did get worst in this chapter. As for Mojo and Him getting involved, just read the next chapters to find out. To **Hairy Gregory**, yup, the PPG's name would be soiled if the point was made of them starting both fights, but they could escape blame if they made the argument of intention as opposed to action. Besides, if they were really evil, the girls starting the fight won't matter at all. Good thing Dr. Edwards manage to check his temper until he at least got home, or it would really get worst. Thanks for reviewing, Hairy Gregory! To **sum-jackass**, thanks for liking the babysitter bit. Yup, Blossom's great on arguments. And your question I inserted on this chapter. Anyway, thanks, I really enjoyed your Freedom Fighters story. To **TJ Rose**, well, I agree with you on Dr. Edwards still believing in his boys and the girls convincing the others, but you really guessed the content of this chapter. Yup, it wasn't really that hard to convince the boys to apologize when you look and sound totally terrifying when your angry, when the boys already know the consequences of their action, when the boys worship their father, and when they dare not make their father angry again. To **Uncle Sam**, thanks for reviewing. And they should talk to Mojo or this entire thing even get worst than it already is. To **Dooly,**yup, that was one reason Blossom didn't believe Brick. No villain changes, and even Mr. Mime, when he did changed to good, was beaten up and thrown to jail. And he was good in the first place and just became evil because of bleach! And talk of Big Billy, as he was beaten up still even after saving the PPG the second time (even though Big Billy was partially responsible for nearly getting the girls killed, still, it was crues.) The girls, I noticed several times in the show, have shown unnecessary cruelty to villains, and its not surprising that they should do so to the Rowdyruff Boys. As for the Spencer bit, I'm glad you liked it. To **nightglider_star**, well if I don't like a story, I wouldn't bother reading updated chapters let alone leave long reviews. Yours story is great, and very original! Anyway, well, see in the following chapters. I'll give you a clue. Things will get worst, but then it'll get better. Thanks for reading mine. To **DL23400,**(runs out of breath trying to say cooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooool), thanks for the compliment! I hope you like this chapter.


	14. The Third Clash: The Powerpuff's Revenge

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

**Chapter 14**

**The Third Clash: The Powerpuff's Revenge**

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The City of Townsville, and four monsters were rampaging through the city!

"What do we do?" asked Boomer, who was overwhelmed by it all. 'I wish Brick was here. He always knew what to do.'

"Well, just kick their behinds to kingdom come!" shouted Butch, who then blindly charged towards the monster who had a body of a bull. Unfortunately for Butch, he didn't know that it had a hide as tough as diamonds, and soon, he was dizzy at having his head banged up. "That's one tough hide!"

Boomer charged for the Goo Monster. He plunged at it, then quickly retreated, screaming, most of his upper clothes gone. "It's acid!" he shouted. His skin has first degree burns, painful, but nothing that the blue ruff couldn't bear. Luckily, his face for some reason was unaffected.

"Are you alright?" asked Butch.

"Well, aside from me being half-naked getting my skin burned, plus the fact that I'm aching very much, I'm all right," Boomer sarcastically replied. "Of course I'm not!"

"But could you still fight?" asked a concerned Butch. He could be a jerk, but he did not want to fight all those monsters alone.

"Yeah, I could," Boomer replied. "And these burns will heal in three or four days if we continue fighting! But we can't touch that monster!"

"And the monster I collided with has one hell of a hide. I didn't make a dent!" Butch said. "Okay, what we've gotta do is attack the other two first. Brick's gotta be back by that time, or those sissies might be able to help us!"

"What? We need the help of those girls?" Boomer said unbelievingly at his brother.

"I said might, idiot!" Butch said. "I'm sure Brick might figure something out to destroy those two monsters, but if worst come to worst, we have no choice! Now, I'll handle the flying dragon, you handle the oversized T-rex!"

"Okay!"

Boomer charged the monster headlong. His fist connected to the head, sending it staggering back, but the monster recovered and used its tail to slam Boomer into a building, instantly demolishing it. He then used laser eyes, and it hit the monster quite badly, but it only seemed to annoy it more. Now it focused its attention entirely on the Rowdyruff. It soon charged, and used his head to ram Boomer through several buildings.

Boomer then got some long chains from a nearby factory, and a couple of twirls later, the monsters' feet were caught in the chains, and it was lying helpless on the ground, unable to get up, or so it seemed. Seconds later, it broke all the chains and attacked Boomer. The blue ruff was too fast however, and soon, all its attacks failed. But the blue ruff couldn't do anything to the monster, and it was a stalemate.

Butch was having better luck with the flying dragon.

Imitating a rocket, he charged himself into the belly of it, instantly flinging it higher into the sky. The monster got angry and started chasing after Butch.

'Good. Now to lure him out of the city,' the green ruff thought, and in a complex series of circles out of the dragon, flew higher and higher above the city. The monster just chased after him, trying to fry him with fire, but Butch just dodged them all nimbly. 'This is so much fun!'

Soon, he reached for his pocket a small device shaped like an inhaler, the one used by people with asthma. He put it into his mouth, and flew higher and higher. 'Good, now to lure that sucker so high that there wouldn't be any oxygen to fuel his fire—or for him to breath. Good thing Dad invented this inhaler to enable me to breathe where there's no air. And if he doesn't suffocate to death, the extreme temperatures will kill him.'

And Butch lured the Monster from the troposphere into the stratosphere, and higher into the ozone layer. Lucky for Butch, the chemical X in his body and his own powers kept his body at constant temperature and pressure, allowing him to live.

The monster, however, had no protection against the extremes of temperature, and it began to realize that. Quickly, it made one last fire blast at Butch. However, the lack of oxygen meant that no fire could come out. And all it did was further deplete the oxygen supply of the monster.

It began to dive back towards earth, but Butch was not to allow that. He knew he would have a very difficult time defeating the monster down in the ground. He grabbed its tail, and flung it higher in the atmosphere. The monster was able to stop its ascent, and began to fight Butch so he could come back to the troposphere and be able to breath. It was fighting desperately. It was literally running out of breath.

Butch punched the monster hard in the belly, further weakening it by knocking out most of the remaining reserves of air from its body. Butch then clutched its tail and held it tightly, not letting it go, not allowing it to breath.

The monster struggled to get its tail free, but with it holding its breath, and most of its oxygen depleted, it did not make much of a struggle. Soon, its lungs can't take more of it, and he involuntarily breathed the poisonous oxygen of the ozone. It first breathe a sigh of relief, as nothing happened, but seconds later, it began to have violent convulsions, as it began to vomit bubbles spasms. He made one last violent move, and a second later, it was dead of ozone poisoning. 'Thank Dad for those daily science lessons. It really paid off this time. That monster died just like that sucker did in the gas chamber.'

He soon began his descent to the ground, still clutching the dead monster by its tail. 'I wonder how Boomer and Brick are doing?'

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Meanwhile…

Buttercup and Blossom attacked Brick, and Brick backed off as long as possible, trying avoid them. 'Damn it! I don't have a chance!' he thought, though of course he didn't outwardly express it.

"At least wait till my brothers arrive so we'll have a fair fight," Brick shouted in desperation, trying in a vain attempt to appeal to their sense of fairness.

"What, and risk you winning again? No, we've gotta win this time for Townsville, fair or not!" Blossom stated, shocking Bubbles. "We've got to stop you evil doers once and for all, and besides, we're never fair in our fights with villains. And since you're villains—"

"We'll gonna kick you butt!" Buttercup shouted.

Soon, Buttercup and Blossom attacked Brick. Blossom punched him in the face, throwing him back. Brick quickly retreated, and Buttercup charged him. Brick retaliated by using laser-eyes, hitting her squarely. Blossom was about to attack him in the side when she noticed Bubbles was just watching disapprovingly. 'Why isn't she helping us?' Blossom wondered. She then gave Brick one powerful kick just after he laser-eyed Buttercup.

"Take care of Brick," Blossom shouted. "Bubbles isn't helping us, and I've got to find out why!"

"Got it, Red," an angry Buttercup shouted. She was not hurt that much, but it got her peeved that Brick was able to hit her even with their numerical advantage. She then flung herself at Brick with blind rage.

Brick was on the ground, just recovering from the blow Blossom gave him, when he saw Buttercup flying towards him. 'Oh just great!' he thought as he prepared himself for Buttercup's onslaught.

He waited until Buttercup was nearer to him. He then charged her. At the last minute, he swerved a little to the left, and tripped her in the air. Soon, Buttercup was rolling on the ground, getting her even angrier. She then again charged at Brick, furiously giving all that she's got. But Brick, who had a much cooler head, was able to dodge almost all of the green puff's punches and kicks. Soon getting tired, he made a feint to the left that completely fooled his raven haired adversary. She swerved to the left, and punched and kicked very hard, only to find out she's been kicking and punching air.

"Boo!" Brick said from the right. He then punched her from her side, followed by freezing her with an ice breath. She soon fell to the ground.

A minute later, an even angrier Buttercup emerged from below.

"You should cool down," Brick advised. "You can't win if you just blindly charge at me."

Buttercup didn't say anything, but attempted to laser eye him. He just dodged it. Frustrated, she again attacked him.

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Meanwhile…

"Bubbles, why don't you help us?" Blossom asked, angry at her sister.

"Because it's unfair! He doesn't have a chance at all!" Bubbles replied.

"They're villains!" Blossom replied. "If you don't remember, most of the villains we fought didn't stand a chance against us, and you had no objections of beating them up!"

"That's because those villains hurt other people," Bubbles replied. "Brick and his brothers hadn't hurt a single innocent person since they have returned, and they are not villains."

"They are too!" Blossom retorted. "I already gave you a complex and simple reason why they are so! And besides, they attacked us! Or did you forget the fight?"

"Hello, Blossom, if you were listening to Dr. Edwards, we attacked them first, and they just fought back!" Bubbles retorted. "And your reasoning doesn't matter, since those two facts that you based it on is not true!"

"Bubbles, you yourself saw Brick tell Mojo that they will take over Townsville and try to destroy us!"

"Yes, and they did nothing of the sort!" Bubbles retorted. "Ever since they arrived, they sorta behaved, and we're the one who made sure their lives miserable!"

"But you saw it, and it's indisputable!" Blossom told her sister exasperatedly. "And they admitted it to us before the second fight!"

"That's true, but Brick's got a point," Bubbles retorted. "The more I think about it the more I think you're wrong and they're right. Think about it. They said they were just being sarcastic. Brick also said that I wasn't there long enough, and he's right. I didn't stay long enough."

"And they apologized! If he really is evil, would he apologize? Tell me Blossom, what other villain ever apologized for anything that they ever did?"

Blossom fell back to her old defense. "Don't you see Bubbles? They're just deceiving us! It's all an act! Now get over yourself and help Buttercup and me fight Brick."

"Sorry Blossom, I just can't," Bubbles said. "I might have helped you if Boomer and Butch were here helping Brick, but I can't now. It's just not fair."

"We'll talk about this later," Blossom said as she joined Buttercup.

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The fight between Buttercup and Brick has not been favorable to the green puff. In fact, Buttercup was getting beaten by Brick, even though they were roughly equal in strength and speed.

'This is too easy. Buttercup is all strength, fury and speed, and nothing else. Her moves were too predictable. She doesn't use her head for fighting.' Indeed, Brick seemed to know beforehand where Buttercup would punch and kick and when and where she would use laser eyes.

Blossom made the same observation. 'Ha, that'll teach Buttercup that brains beat brawn anytime! Well, time for me to help her.'

Brick backed off a little, and as expected, Buttercup followed and laser-eyed him. He swerved upward, and Buttercup also followed. He laser-eyed Buttercup, but she dodged it. Buttercup then attacked Brick from the side, but Brick suddenly was not where she thought he was. Before she could figure out what happened, she was frozen again by Brick from behind and seconds later was kicked to the ground by the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys.

Seconds later, Brick was himself frozen by Blossom's ice breath. Before he could recover, Blossom made a headlong attack at Brick, kicking him in the head, grabbing him by the hand and flinging him into a suburban house.

The house was demolished and Brick emerged and confronted his counterpart. He still wore the smirk on his face that irritated Blossom no end. "It's good that you finally decided to appear, Little Miss Utonium! I was beginning to think that you chickened out and hid behind your sister Buttercup!"

Blossom was irked, not because the remark of her chickening out, but because Brick had called her 'Little Miss Utonium.' For some reason, that irritated her more than his smirk.' "That'll be that day! I never chicken out of anything, especially not from the likes of you, Little Mr. Edwards."

To Blossom's consternation, Brick seemed to take pleasure in hearing the world 'Little Mr. Edwards.'

"Thanks for the compliment. Nobody had ever called me a smaller version of my great father, Dr. William Edwards," he said.

"Defend yourself, Brick," Blossom shouted as she assaulted the red ruff. It seemed that Brick always had a way to get on her nerves.

Soon, the two leaders engaged in hand to hand combat.

Brick blocked Blossom's fist, but Blossom swerved and kicked Brick in the back of the head. That caused Brick to be dizzy for a few seconds, but he recovered just in time to dodge Blossom's follow up kick. Brick the turned and froze Blossom. He was about to kick her to the ground when Buttercup suddenly and unexpectedly zapped him with laser. Blossom took advantage of this by punching Brick repeatedly in the stomach. Soon after, Buttercup went up and punched him in the jaw. Blossom then froze him using ice breath. After which Buttercup balled both of her fists and slammed it against the back of Brick's shoulder, sending him to the ground.

Brick could take on Buttercup one on one, and could fight to a stalemate Blossom one on one, but he was no much against the two puffs. Brick stood up after the beating and looked at the two figures in the sky watching him. 'Damn it! There's no way I can win like this!' Brick thought. 'Not after this. This damned beating has weakened me so much that I probably couldn't go one on one anymore and not lose, not to mention two at the same time. One hits me and when I try hitting back, the other hits me. I dodge one and when I do, the other hit me. It's like one of them has double the speed and strength. There's only one solution. My pride might be dented but its better than it being ripped to shreds or being at their mercy!'

Both girls were staring at Brick. "So what does it feel to be in a fight where you're sure you'll lose?" mocked Blossom. "And don't give me that false confidence of yours. We both know you don't stand a chance as it currently stands."

"Yeah, give up now or be beaten to a bloody pulp!" Buttercup added.

"Surrender, that's the only choice you have! And accept our conditions!" Blossom shouted. "And we promise not to hurt you more than we have to."

Brick knew that Blossom was right. But he wouldn't admit it out loud of course. He was too proud to. It was the same pride would not let him surrender or accept Blossom's conditions.

"No, Blossom. I won't surrender nor accept your conditions. Why should I admit to the people of Towsville or to my father something that isn't even true just because you think it's true? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I ain't gonna sing your tune," Brick declared. Then with a lot of bravado, shouted, "Prepare to be defeated!" And charged towards Blossom and Buttercup.

'What a stupid fool,' Blossom thought as Brick charged them.

'What an idiot,' Buttercup thought, as both she and her sister prepared to defend themselves.

Brick charged, and a nanosecond before he reached the sisters, he swerved upwards, turned, and flew like hell towards the city. "Catch me if you can, suckers!" 'I may look like a coward but I'm no foolish heroic martyr either. I've still got my common sense.'

"You can run, but you can't hide, you fraidy cat!" Blossom retorted. "You tail him, I'll head him off," she said to Buttercup.

"Got it Red," she said before she started chasing him. Since Brick was slightly weaker at that point, Buttercup was slowly catching up to him. Brick made some turns and twists which threw Buttercup off some degree, but her superior speed meant that she always was not too far behind Brick and was always rapidly catching up. 'Butch and Boomer should have finished off the monster by now.'

Before he could reach the city, Blossom suddenly appeared in his way. She brought her arms forward, and shot a laser beam towards him. Brick reflexively swerved towards the ground barely avoiding the blast, but it hit Buttercup who happened to just behind him.

"Watch it!" Buttercup shouted, annoyed. It was a very powerful blast that hit her, but tough Powerpuff that she was, just shrugged off the pain and annoyance after a few minutes.

"Sorry, Buttercup," Blossom said, laughing weakly and scratching the back of her head. "Hey, where'd that ruff go?"

Brick had disappeared.

"How'd he get by us?" asked a puzzled Buttercup.

"Well, one thing's for sure, he's still here," Blossom asserted.

Buttercup looked at Blossom curious. "How'd you know?"

"We didn't see any red beam go in any direction away from us," Blossom deducted. "So he must be hiding in the forest below. Our eyes weren't off him long enough for him to make a dash to the city or any place away from here without us noticing, and there's only one place he could've gone—in the forest down below us."

"Let's go find him," Buttercup said, eager to find the ruff.

"Let's be careful," Blossom cautioned, remembering an earlier unpleasant memory of her and Boomer in another forest. "He's a tricky one. If you find him, signal the others at once. Believe me, you do not want to fight him in a forest alone. Buttercup, go over that section, I'll go over that part. Bubbles, if you don't want to fight, you can at least help us find Brick."

Bubbles, who had followed her sisters to keep herself updated on events, just nodded.

"Okay, you check over there," Blossom directed. "Now if you see him, immediately signal the others. Do not, I repeat, do not engage him alone. Now go," she shouted, and all three went to find the red ruff.

Brick was staring at the girls talk and separate from each other. He was in one of the tree branches and he was hidden by the leaves. 'You're wrong Blossom, I can run, and I can hide. Now to wait them out.'

He then sat back on the tree to wait out the girls.

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Five minutes later…

Brick turned to see if any puff was near his vicinity when who should turn up beside him but Bubbles!

Brick nearly fell off the tree when he saw Bubbles. 'How could she get so near me without me knowing?' He then debated with himself whether or not to attack her, fully knowing that his cover was blown.

Bubbles, however, didn't shout to her sisters or attack him like he expected her to.

"Don't worry. I won't attack you or call my sisters," Bubbles whispered.

"Why?" Brick whispered, puzzled. "You should be out there shouting to everyone that you found me, because that's what you're supposed to do."

"Because what Blossom and Buttercup are doing is unfair, and I don't think you and your brothers are evil at all," Bubbles whispered back.

"But, what about—" Brick whispered back, but before he could finish, Bubbles put her hand to his mouth.

"Shhh, not so loud, or my sisters would hear you. Well, I've got to leave and keep 'searching', or my sisters will get suspicious. And please don't hate my sisters. They're just mistaken." With that, Bubbles left a puzzled and confused Brick.

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Meanwhile…

Butch had just landed near Townsville Beach, and before the helicopter camera crews of the media, with great fanfare, threw the body of the winged monster towards the ocean. He then looked at what Boomer was up to.

Boomer was still having the stalemate with the T-rex-like monster. The blond rowydruff seemed not to make any decisive moves against it, for every attack seemed to only weaken the monster slightly. Luckily, the monster itself was not able to land a single blow against the blue and blond ruff because the faster Boomer would merely dodge its attacks. And it couldn't fly too. The other two monsters were wreaking havoc on the rest of Townsville unimpeded.

'Pathetic,' Butch thought. 'He couldn't even take care of one measly monster.' He was about to join his brother when Brick's voice was suddenly heard over their communicator watches.

"This is Brick. Have you taken care of the monster yet?"

"Well, one of them at least," Butch replied.

"What, there are more than one?" the redhead ruff asked in disbelief.

"Yeah Brick," the blue ruff replied. "Four of them in total. Butch took care of the flying dragon, but the other three are almost impossible. One is a T-rex monster that seemed to be impervious to my attacks, one is made of acid making it impossible to touch—"

"And Boomer learned it the hard way," Butch added.

Boomer was annoyed but continued anyway. "And a bull-like monster with a hammerhead, and a hide that is impossible to crack. It's slow but its' tail took out a major portion of the city."

"Hey, did you say acid?" Brick asked. "As in a monster completely made of gooey acid?"

"You got it!" Boomer said.

"Boomer, what is the chemical opposite of acid?"

"A base," Boomer replied.

"A what?" Butch asked.

"A base. It's the opposite of acid. An acid is a compound with an extra hydrogen atom…" Boomer began explaining.

"Alright already!" said Butch impatiently. "But what has it to do with beating that monster?"

"I'm coming to that. A base is made up of hydroxide atoms…" Boomer continued.

"I don't care! Speak in practical terms," Butch practically shouted.

"Okay, okay. If you mix a base with acid, it neutralizes it, turning it into a salt," Boomer explained, "making it safer to pound to pieces!"

"That's great, but won't it be dead already if it's salt?" asked Butch.

"Have you ever listened to Dad's daily science lessons?" shouted Boomer. "A salt in scientific terms is anything that is a mixture of acids and bases, while table salt is just Sodium Chloride!"

"Of course I listened, but I'm not a science wiz like you," Butch defended. "Math is much better than science."

"Will you two shut up!" Brick nearly shouted over the communicator. "We have to fight three monsters plus those Powerpuff Girls without you fighting each other. Boomer, where can we find these bases?"

"Well, baking powder has baking soda which is base," Boomer said.

"Okay. Go to Mr. Morebuck's factory and take all the baking powder that you can carry. Then dump it into the acid monster. That should take care of it as well as ruin Dad's competitor!" Brick ordered. 'Dad should be very proud of us.'

"Okay," Butch said as he and his blond brother raced to get to Mr. Morebucks factory. When they arrived, they proceeded to break in the most destructive manner, as to cause maximum damage and proceeded to get all the baking powder they could lay their hands on.

"Oops, sorry," Butch said after "accidentally" destroying Mr. Morebucks' conveyor belt and several other things. They also "accidentally" manage to raze most of the finished products in the factory. 'Oh well, all in the line of duty!'

Anyway, they went over to the acid monster and dumped the baking powder on it.

The baking powder immediately dissolved into the monster, and the monster started to lose its acidity. Soon, it turned into a harmless liquid sludge, the monster dying in the process.

"Ha, two down, and two to go!" Boomer and Butch shouted high-fiving each other.

"How about you Brick?" Boomer asked.

"What about me," the ruff leader replied.

"I mean, how's it going, especially the apology?" Butch said. "Aren't you going to join us?"

"Well I can't. You see Blossom and Buttercup didn't believe me when I made that apology, and they decided to beat me up until she forces a bogus confession from me. I was beaten badly so I tried running. They were too fast for me to outrun especially after such an extensive beating! Right now I'm in some forest hiding hoping that those girls don't find me or I'm dead meat!"

"Why didn't you earlier tell us?" Butch said.

"Yeah, we would've have joined you and kicked the butt of those girls!" Boomer added.

"Because you have a mission to do, and that is to destroy those monsters before it completely destroys Townsville," Brick lectured.

"But you'll get killed!" Boomer protested.

"It's irrelevant! My safety has nothing to do with defeating those damned monsters!" Brick coldly replied. "You may only come here to where I am if you defeated the monster, am I clear?"

"But…" Boomer began to protest.

"No buts! And if both of you come here without those two monsters destroyed, if I somehow survive this, you're both going to get it!"

"But how about you?"

"I'll try to get to where you are and help you as soon as I can," Brick replied.

"But Dad…"

"Dad gave us missions to do. I don't want to disappoint him this time. I don't want him to be angry at us again."

"Okay, but your nuts!" Butch said.

"And I'm a leader too," Brick replied. "Now kick's that monster's butt and make Dad proud!"

Butch was frustrated. "That Brick has gone screwy! But I've got to hand it to him, he's one tough ruff and one hell of a leader!"

"But Brick's right though, the town goes first!" Boomer said, his admiration for his brother going up in notches.

"Let's do it then, not for the town and the morons who live here, but for Dad! Let's finish these suckers and help Brick"

Butch attacked the slow heavily plated monster (the bull monster with a hammer head) while Boomer assaulted the T-rex. Boomer decided to use different tactics than he usually did.

"Sonic Boom," he shouted, and directed it at the monster. It threw the monster off, and forced it to cover its ears, but that's about it. After a minute or so, Boomer ran out of breathe, and the monster renewed its assault. Boomer was able to avoid each and every attempt of the monster due to his superior agility.

He then decided to use laser eyes. He was able to zap the monster a couple of times. It seemed to him that it had no effect, but Boomer just continued zapping. Unknown to him, however, each and every attack weakened it slightly. And add it all up, it was much weaker than it was originally. Unfortunately for the blue ruff, he doesn't know it and still thought it was a desperate fight. He continued his hit and run and zap tactics, even if he thought it was useless, in the process weakening the monster each time.

Butch was having worst luck with the armor plated monster. He shifted his strategy. He began zapping it with laser eyes, but it did no good. His armor was too tough. He decided on one last strategy.

"I hope this works," Butch said to himself, as he began focusing his laser-eyes on the armor of the monster. A few minutes later, it was red hot. Butch then went under the ocean, got a large rock, and threw it at the hide of the monster!

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Meanwhile…

Brick just gave the last message to his brothers in his communicator.

Five second later…

"So there you are, Brick Edwards," Blossom's voice suddenly said from above the tree where Brick was hiding.

'Things couldn't possibly get any worst,' Brick thought. "Damn it! I shouldn't have said that! Now I've jinx it!"

Brick looked up and saw Blossom and Buttercup, smiling sadistically at him. Bubbles was just behind them, looking worried.

"So Brick, are you giving in to our conditions?" Blossom asked.

"You must be deaf or something," Brick stated. "For I clearly stated a while ago that I wouldn't surrender myself to the police, nor would I give any bogus confessions! You remind me of Stalin and his show trials during the Great Purge."

"Don't compare me with that man," Blossom promptly replied. "He made up fake charges and false confessions to kill whoever opposed him, while you are really evil and needed to be exposed."

"Enough talk already," the lime clad puff shouted. "Hey leader boy, you going to give up or not?"

"Not on your lifetime," the leader of the rowdyruffs answered, as he braced himself for another beating.

He then made a dash through the forest to try to escape the twosome. The chase went on as before, with Buttercup closely tailing him and Blossom heading him off. But the chase was barely on when Brick was hit from a laser beam from above. It distracted him long enough for Buttercup to catch up. In less than ten seconds, Buttercup laser-eyed brick then kicked him towards Blossom. Before Brick could recover, Blossom grabbed him from behind. She wrapped her arms under his shoulder, full nelson style, so that his arms were dangling in the sides. She finished it by wrapping her legs around her waist.

"Don't bother to try to escape," Blossom said. "Now, are you or are you not going to agree to our terms?"

Brick didn't even dignify the question with an answer.

"Well, can't say I didn't warn you," Blossom said.

Brick struggled for all he was worth, but found out that it was futile. 'Might as well be chained by duranium,' Brick thought.

Blossom first froze Brick in ice.

"Buttercup, would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," Buttercup said as she began slowly punching and kicking the red ruff. The black haired puff seemed to take her time, savoring each strike. "Take that, you evil minion of Mojo Jojo," she shouted as she made blow after blow. "Next time, think twice before messing with the Powerpuff Girls," and it went on like this for the next ten minutes.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Butch threw the large rock at the monster and its extremely heated hide. It cracked at impact into a million pieces.

"Bummer!" Butch said.

However, the small pieces of rock soon was absorbed into the heated hide, then suddenly out of nowhere, a cold wind blew. It cooled the hide of the monster, and to Butch and Boomer's horror, it revealed a shiny and metallic surface.

"What happened?" asked Butch.

"The rock particles fused with the super heated hide to form a metallic compound. The cold wind cooled it. Now it is even stronger," Boomer explained with dread.

"This sucks!" Butch said. "Damn it, it'll take forever for us to finish those monsters. One of us should go help Brick!"

"Yeah, but Brick ordered…'" Boomer began.

"That we both shouldn't go to him at the same time," Butch finished. "However, he didn't say anything about not going alone, now did he? What if one of us would go help Brick, while the other would deal with the monsters?"

"That's a good idea, but who should go to Brick and who should fight the monsters?" asked Boomer.

"I'll fight the monster, you'll help Brick!" Butch said.

"No way! I want to fight those monsters!" Boomer protested. "You go to Brick."

"I want to fight those monsters," Butch countered.

"No I want to!"

"No me!"

"Me!"

"Look, this is going nowhere!" Butch finally said. "Let's do rock paper scissors. Whoever wins gets to decide who goes where, okay?"

"Seems fair to me."

Butch got paper, Boomer got scissors.

"Of all the rotten luck!" Butch ranted. "Okay, but you better be careful!"

"I will," Boomer said. "And don't worry. I'll join you as soon as I take care of these two."

Butch then raced to where he thought Brick was.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

The jail warden was busy watching the fights on TV when suddenly the phone rang.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Warden, this is Professor Utonium. Could you arrange for Mojo Jojo to be escorted to my home? I have a few questions that I need to ask him."

"Well, sure. I mean we've got to release him in a day or two seeing that we've got nothing to charge him with currently."

"Thanks warden."

* * *

**Author Thanks:**

To **Ud the Imp,**thanks. And its even getting more intense in chapter 15. To **Uncle Sam,** I agree completely, Poor Brick. And I'll assure you no one would die, except maybe the monsters. To **DL23400**, I hope you don't fall off this cliffhanger! To **Hairy Gregory,**I also felt they could have told it to their Dad in a better manner. And as for Brick, read the next chapter to find out how badly hurt he'll really be when this is all over. As for the PPG's reputation, most of you probably know what would happen to it. But there'll be more surprises coming! Plus more twist and turns on this issue. And I agree. What would the people of Townsville think after this? Well, he wasn't really silly. He was in effect ordered by his father to go alone and try to apologize. Dr. Edwards didn't anticipate that the girls would do such a thing to his son alone. As for Brick, he really had no choice. He either had to face the PPG alone, or face his father's wrath once more. To **sum-jackass**, well Brick won't die, that at least I assure you of. However, you must read the next chapter to find out how badly hurt he really is. To **Dooly,**Dr. Edwards really needed to be that tough, or the boys would be uncontrollable. As for now, he's doing a great job raising them. As for crank calls, what could I say? They're typical mischievous boys only with superpowers just like the PPG are typical sweet little girls with superheroes. I agree with you on pride. The leaders of both teams have so much of it. As for Townsville not needing another set of superheroes, I think it is the citizens of Townsville that determines that. Just look at the Major Man incident, where the phony superhero nearly got hold of the psyche of Townsville and nearly forgot the PPG. And in "forced kin" the people of Townsville where literally bowing and worshipping Mojo after he defeated the alien. To**nightglider-star,**thanks. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't KAWAI a Japanese term for cute (you learn a lot of Japanese words when reading DBZ fics)? Wow, thanks for the cool compliment. To **TJ Rose,**yup, a pretty big mistake on the part of the girls. They should have been more trusting, like Bubbles. As for Brick not fighting back, this chapter answers that question. As for Butch and Boomer, this chapter pretty much answers it. As for the babysitter, I really would like to point out that the babysitter just pretended to believe them just. Maybe I'll write a future chapter or story where she would have her revenge? And the $100 doesn't hurt too. To **Akum**, I hope this update pleases you. To **FireStarter10388,**yup, another fight. Anyway thanks for reading and reviewing.


	15. The Third Clash: Blossom's Plan Revealed

**Allies and Rivals**

Since my review thanks is pretty long, I placed it at the bottom of the chapter instead.

**Chapter 15**

**The Third Clash: Blossom's Plan Revealed**

* * *

The City of Townsville, and its fate was being decided by the fight between one of the Rowdyruff Boys—Boomer—against the two remaining monsters, for the green ruff—Butch—was racing to rescue his brother, the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys.

Boomer surveyed the situation at hand. There were two remaining monsters ripping apart through the city, destroying any structure that gets in its way. 'Those monsters sure hate anything that stands on one another,' he thought. Luckily, the people were so used to monster attacks that they were able to make a perfect evacuation so that nobody had died. Yet five billion dollars worth of property had been destroyed, and a fourth of the city utterly demolished.

'At least there were only two monsters left,' he thought. 'Thank God Butch took care of the flying monster and Brick reminded me that acids can be neutralized by bases. But still, those two remaining will take extraordinary effort. That monster has an extremely tough hide. I don't know if I could crack it. Butch even made it stronger! The other one seemed to have the resilience of a cockroach. You stomp on it repeatedly but you never seem to get rid of it.'

Boomer then had an idea. 'That same tough hide that can't be cracked has got to weight tons! I know it isn't scientific but that's the best shot that I've got. I'll just throw it into the sea and it'll sink faster than the Titanic!'

Boomer watched the monster closely looking for openings. He noticed the tail that caused the destruction. 'If it just kept still for a second, just one second,' he thought. Suddenly, for some reason, the tail just stopped. 'That's my chance.'

He immediately grabbed the tail, and in a supreme effort, tried to carry it to the ocean. Yet it was so heavy that even with Boomer's powers, it was impossible to carry it. 'How heavy can you get? What's this, a thousand tons?'

Just as he had almost given up, the monster swung its tail and slammed it, with Boomer, into a dozen buildings. Boomer tried to let go, but he discovered, to his horror, that small tentacles had wrapped him around its tail, and now he was stuck.

The monster then slammed Boomer on the concrete repeatedly for five full minutes. Boomer's strength was fast diminishing, but he held on to consciousness. He tried every effort to escape, but the tentacles that wrapped him seem to be made of the same materials as that of the hide. Luckily, every thing that he collided was broken instead of it breaking him. It then resumed its destruction of the buildings to try to take out Boomer. When the monster discovered that Boomer was still alive, it switched strategies and began slamming him against its back.

This was the slamming that nearly killed Boomer. For unlike the buildings and the concrete, the hide of the monster was extremely tough. It took almost all of Boomer's strength to hold on, and it diminished at an even greater rate. Minute after minute, second after second, the monster slammed Boomer against its back, threatening to break all the bones in his body. At this moment, the blue ruff's body was in extreme pain, and he was shouting for all he was worth. Soon, the pain became so intense that he felt numb. Soon, he was reduced to tears as he watched as the monster helplessly crushed his body.

At this moment, he realized something. He was the most pathetic of all Rowdyruffs. 'What a Rowdyruff I am! I mean I'm not even able to take on a measly monster. I'm the only one to be knocked out in a fight. Butch is right. I have no pride as a Rowdyruff.' For a few seconds, he had given up all hope, and just bawled like a baby.

However, just at it seemed utterly hopeless, he remembered some comforting words from his brothers and his father.

"We wouldn't have won without you," he remembered Brick say.

"You should be _proud_ of what you did. You only did what you thought was right, and what you did was certainly not wrong! You must never be ashamed about anything you do if you think you're right! So don't cry, because I am proud of you three, and especially you, Boomer. Even if you fail, if you did all that you can do, don't be ashamed. Be strong, and don't shed tears over spilled milk," he remembered his father say.

'But what can I do?' he thought.

"You must keep your pride in yourself, and only regard that failure as a stepping stone for your eventual success. Learn from your failure and from your mistakes…And always be proud that you're a Rowdyruff. Always be proud that you're an Edwards," he then remembered.

That thought ended his crying. He was still being pounded on the back of the monster, and his strength was still diminishing. Yet the memory his brother's and fathers' words built up his confidence. 'I am a Rowdyruff, and even if I'm the weakest of the three, I'm still better than that monster. No, I won't let it get to me. I am Boomer Edwards, and nothing could break me, or my pride. But how to break free?'

He suddenly had an idea. He closed his eyes and breathed as slowly as he can. He then lay perfectly still, even against the slamming. Soon, the monster assumed that Boomer was dead, so it threw him away.

Boomer then stood up among the rubble, unnoticed by either monster. He body was aching, but at least he was not in the monster's grasp anymore. 'Now how to kill that monster?' he thought. 'I could not attack it head on, as the hide is too much. I've got to find a way to attack it in such a way as to make its hide useless. Wait a minute, let's see how tough his underbelly is.'

He then ran as fast and as discreetly as he could under the monster with the tough hide. As soon as he was under the monster, he prepared to pierce it. 'Hopes this works,' he thought. He then rammed himself against the underside of the monster. To his pleasant surprise, the underbelly was extremely soft, and he easily broke through. 'I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think it before? Now to finish off this sucker.'

He then went to where the heart was, and in a second, ripped it apart form the veins and arteries. A minute later, the monster was dead. He had lost three fifths (60%) of his strength in the fight against that monster, but at least he had won. 'Three down and one to go!'

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Brick, who was in Blossom's clutches, was being beaten up by Buttercup. By this time, the ice surrounding him caused by Blossom's ice breath had melted, but that was small comfort for the leader of the Rowdyruffs. Buttercup seemed to take particular relish inflicting blow after blow on the red haired ruff.

By any measure, he should either be unconscious or dead, but it was a testimony to his physical strength (and that of the rest of the Rodwyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls) that he was still fully conscious. The beatings were painful however, and he was quickly losing strength.

"So, you're ready to spill the beans"? Buttercup inquired.

"Why should I?" Brick spat. "I already told you we're not working with Mojo Jojo, and I already apologized for lying to you about it!"

"Liar!" Blossom shouted. "Bubbles heard you, and you confirmed it to us, and no amount of denial on your part will ever change our minds about you, Brick, and your brothers. Now, for the last time, will you or won't you confess your villainy?"

"If you already stubbornly believed it, what good shall a confession do?" asked Brick.

"If you haven't been listening, only us and a couple of people know the truth about you. The people of Townsville as well as Dr. Edwards still thinks of you as heroes. As it is, your confession will finally make them realize that your true nature is evil. Your reputation as superheroes, because it's based on a falsehood, will plummet as fast as it rose as soon as the people get wind of it."

Brick just shook his head.

"If that's the way you want it," Blossom replied, tightening her hold on the red ruff. "We have no other choice. Buttercup, carry on!"

"Take this!" Buttercup shouted as she again punched and kicked Brick. "And this, and that, and some of these, and one of those!"

"Let's make this a little more interesting," Blossom said. With that, she again froze Brick using her icebreathe, and Buttercup delivered her fastest and strongest punches yet on the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys.

After that particular beating, Brick has just lost two-thirds of his strength. As such, he was so weak that he couldn't stand a chance even one on one against any of the puffs. He's still strong enough to fly and deliver attacks, but not enough to tickle any of the Powerpuffs.

At that point, Buttercup resumed her assault on the helpless Rowdyruff. However, on the thirty second mark, it suddenly stopped. Blossom's grip around him suddenly disappeared and Buttercup ceased her assault.

"What the?" He then looked and saw Butch in front of him, and Blossom and Buttercup lying on the ground, looking angrily at them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Brick with a mixture of relief and anger.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?"

"The monsters are taken care of, right?"

"Not yet. Boomer's gonna deal with them."

"I told you a dozen times not to come here unless you have taken care of the monsters!" he said in a low tone.

"Yeah, but remember, you told us that we BOTH can't go here to help you. So we decided that one of us should help you and the other would remain to kill the monsters. Besides, I don't want to go home and tell Dad that you're dead!"

"You really didn't need to do this. As you can see, I have the situation perfectly under control!" Brick said. "You are very foolish coming here you know, but I'm for once I'm glad you acted foolishly. Still, I think you don't have a chance against three Powerpuffs."

"Well, do you have a plan?" asked Butch.

"I have, but we have to wait for Boomer to do it," Brick replied.

"In the meanwhile…what do we do?"

"What do you think we should do?" Brick replied.

"Well, for starters, you should surrender to us and comply with our conditions," Blossom suddenly said, slowly flying up to Butch and Brick's eye level.

"Yeah, give it up," Buttercup said, seconding her sister. She also recovered from Butch's unexpected blow, and hovering at their level.

"Oh sure, I'll give up to those whose butts I just easily kick just moments ago! That's rich!" the green ruff remarked, then began insanely laughing.

"As soon as you get over your laughing fit," Blossom coldly remarked, "and if you have the brains for it, it would be wise to consider your situation. You arrived seeing us trying to convince your brother to see the light. Obviously, we're so busy at it that we didn't notice your arrival and you took us by surprise. I don't know why Bubbles didn't do a thing to stop you, but nevertheless, you were able to grant Brick a temporary reprieve. But now, the surprise is gone, you're outnumbered three to one, and don't count Brick in, since he is too weak to put up much of a fight. You're alone, and you can't prevail against both of us, nor can you cut and run and leave your brother at our mercy. So surrender is the only option."

"You can shove your surrender up your ass!" Butch replied.

"And such foul mouth, totally unworthy of your brother Brick!" Blossom said, teasing him.

"And your actions is totally unworthy of your name and reputation," Brick acidly replied. "You're trying to destroy us, but who's to say that what you're doing right now won't destroy you instead?" That cut deep into Blossom.

"Don't start moralizing on me, Brick. For somebody like you and your brothers doing that is as ludicrous as Hitler moralizing on the evils of war!" Blossom replied.

"Who's saying we're moralizing?" Brick curtly answered. "We don't moralize! Moralizing is for fools who had nothing else to do than to try to impose their own infallible ideas on others who don't give a damn! And besides, by your own standards what you're doing is reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous."

"You are so wrong Brick. Moralizing is a good thing, because it enables society to make a social conscience to provide a standard by which to judge actions. You clearly must state what is right and what is wrong, for without it, people would just do what they think is right without regard to the person next to him, and the result would be chaos. You cannot have society without morality, and you cannot have morality without those who moralize to try to make everyone abide by a certain morality. So do the right thing by confessing your role. Maybe you could apologize to the people of Townsville for blatantly deceiving them."

"Blossom, could we stop all this yapping and continue on with the fights?" Buttercup demanded.

"Okay Buttercup, take care of Butch while I try to talk things over with his brother?"

"What, are you telling me that you're not going to help me?" Buttercup incredulously said.

"Are you telling me, my dear sister, that you're afraid to fight Butch? I always thought you are the toughest, the bravest of the girls! That's why you're going to fight him now!"

"Okay, okay, and thanks Blossom," Buttercup replied. "Come on Butch, show me what've you got, or are you afraid a girl will whoop your butt?"

"Let's see you put your money where your mouth is," Butch replied. "Bring it on!"

Soon, the two green ruffs slugged it out, while Blossom and Brick continued to talk.

"You're one hell of a leader," Brick said, "though it could hardly compare to my leadership of the Rowdyruff Boys."

Blossom for some reason blushed at the compliment of the red ruff. During the aftermath of the second defeat, she had and still had grievous doubts about her leadership abilities. Most of it stems from Brick's and Buttercup's indictment during her dream, but also of a sense of failure borne out of the lost of the second fight. She then fought it by belittling Brick and blindly accepting Buttercup's words of comfort. But deep down, she admired Brick's leadership abilities, even as she deplored him as a person.

She ignored the face saving remark of her adversary. "And you're not too bad either," Blossom replied.

"I know, I'm much better," Brick proudly replied. "Anyway, you should stop this crazy fight. You know that I wouldn't admit it, because it's not true."

"Liar!" Blossom shouted. "Bubbles heard you and Mojo conspiring, and you admitted it to us before the second fight. Your so-called apology means nothing because what you admitted to us it was backed by what Bubbles saw!"

"Then there's no more point in continuing this talk since it's useless. But I warn you, by your own standard you are destroying yourselves if you persist with your actions. You'll be destroying your reputations!"

"The only reputation that'll be destroyed is yours! The people of Townsville, one way or another, will finally realize before the sun rises your true characters. And yours will fall as fast as light, like the other phony, Major Man! Bubbles, if you don't want to fight, will you at least watch Brick and make sure he doesn't escape?"

"Okay Blossom," Bubbles said.

"Don't bother. I won't even attempt to escape," Brick declared. 'Without Butch that is,' he quickly added.

* * *

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* * *

In the meantime…

Butch and Buttercup slowly ascended high in the air, staring at each other. They got into their respective fighting positions, and in a flash, they lunged on to each other.

Basically, they were equal, and the fight had the potentials of a stalemate.

Buttercup punched Butch, hurting him much, but he then retaliated with a kick to her head. That sent Buttercup reeling, but she quickly laser-eyed Butch. Butch, annoyed, gave a series of devastating punches and kicks. It was not devastating enough, however, to gain a decisive advantage, as Buttercup took advantage of a temporary pause to counterattack. She gave a flurry of punches to Butch's stomach, causing Butch much pain, but he just ignored it as he swerved upwards and delivered a powerful kick at the back of Buttercup's head. Buttercup shouted in pain but otherwise ignored it as she turned, balled her fist, and hit Butch powerfully, sending him straight down.

Before he was a quarter way down, he stopped his decent and charged up to Buttercup ramming his head into his distaff counterpart, sending her straight up. She halted before she got too high however, and they stared at each other, bodies hurting, panting and sweating, yet clearly enjoying the fight.

'I haven't had this much fun, since…forever,' Butch thought. His fun, however, was short lived.

Buttercup too was having fun. 'Though it sucks that I haven't won yet.'

Butch and Buttercup renewed their duel. Butch laser-eyed Buttercup, then raced towards her. Buttercup recovered just in time to dodge some of the attacks, but Butch managed to get some through, before Buttercup grabbed his arm and threw him away. He then regrouped and attempted to attack Buttercup again, but before he could touch her, Blossom suddenly appeared out of nowhere and kicked him powerfully in the head, sending him downwards.

"Stay out of this, Blossom," Butch harshly said. "This is between you and her." He then pointed at Buttercup.

"This isn't a private fight between you two," Blossom said. "This is a fight between the people of Townsville, the Powerpuff Girls vs. the Rowdyruff Boys."

Butch spat on the ground, then charged up Blossom. Blossom just waited, and before Butch could reach her, Buttercup kicked him in his side. Butch angrily tried to hit back, but Blossom then laser-eyed her.

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* * *

"The fight was over before it even began," Brick said to no one in particular.

"Why is that so?" Bubbles, who was standing beside him, asked.

"If you're not blind," Brick began, "you would see that my brother is fighting two of your sisters. By the way, why exactly aren't you fighting side by side with your sisters, enforcing justice for the city?"

"Because it's not fair!" Bubbles said.

"And since when did you fight fair with villains?" Brick bitterly asked.

"We never did. But you're no villain like my sister paints you to be!"

"And how come you think of me as such?" Brick asked sceptically. "When you're the one who heard me utter that statement?"

"Because…I believe your explanation," Bubbles said. "And the real reason is you apologized. No villain we've ever encountered sincerely apologized to us. That was what convinced me."

"And what makes you think I'm sincere?" Brick asked, still unconvinced by Bubbles' sincerity.

"Well, you risked life and limb to come here alone and facing us to apologize. I mean you even didn't know if any of us would believe you. You're really brave Brick. If you weren't sincere, you wouldn't even try."

"You don't know the half of it," Brick replied. By this time, he was convinced of her sincerity, though his distrust remains as strong as ever.

"But why?" asked ruff leader. "Why the hell did you believe it? I mean you were beaten pretty savagely by Butch, Boomer and myself—twice, not to mention the time when Mojo first created us."

"It's all part of a fight. Besides, I've experienced worse things. And you apologized, so that's that!"

The rowdyruff leader just remained silent, staring in amazement at Bubbles for a few seconds then focused on the fights. "Damn it Butch, you can't win this thing!" he shouted. "Cut your losses and run!"

Butch, who stubbornly refused to give up, just kept on returning for more pounding. Blossom and Buttercup didn't even need to hold him to keep him from escaping. He just keeps coming back for more, even if it was clear that he doesn't stand a chance.

"No Brick. I ain't afraid of some sissie. I'll win this fight yet!" Butch said as he went back again at Buttercup and Blossom. But it was futile. His body was aching

Brick just shook his head. "He's brave, and stubborn, and tough, but absolutely out of his senses."

Bubbles just stared at Brick, her eyes full of curiosity, for a full minute. She agreed with him on the status of Butch, yet that wasn't her interest. She wanted to know more about the red ruff.

"Brick?" she asked.

The redhead ruff wasn't listening. He was busy watching the one-sided fight.

"Hello, Earth to Brick," Bubbles said very close to his ear.

"Huh, what is it now, Bubbles?"

"Brick, do you hate me and my sisters?" Bubbles asked.

Brick was surprised at the question. He pondered for a while whether or not to answer her, or to lie to her or tell her the truth if he decided to answer. He decided to be honest.

"To tell you the truth, we used to, but not anymore," he said.

"Why?" asked Bubbles, curious. She already knows that they're not evil. Now she wants to know if they can be friends.

"Well, we hated you because you destroyed us, we wanted revenge. But after we had it, we've got no reason to hate you anymore. Hell, even these attacks didn't cause us to re-hate you."

"So do you like us?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're girls!" Brick replied. "You have cooties, and your disgusting, and do gross things, and kiss," he said, shuddering at the last word, then making faces. "Second, even if we find that you're barely tolerable, it's unlikely your sisters will want to cozy up to us. Besides, do you really think Blossom and Buttercup want to be friends with us, those boys who suddenly broke them by proving the unbeatable beatable? Third, we don't really need friends. We already have each other and our Dad. We won't get along."

Bubbles stuck out her tongue at Brick. "Boys are even more gross, girls are more refined, and prettier, and things like that, so that makes us even, since miserly loves company," she said in a playful and joking way. "And once Blossom and Buttercup know the truth, they'll accept you. And they would too. They're one of the friendliest people in Townsville. And if not, I'm always here. And they'll probably forget about being beaten since it won't matter if you're the good guys. And everyone needs friends, even if they think they don't need them."

"Bah! You're just foolish. It's all a useless dream!" Brick said, dismissing every word Bubbles said.

"Yes, but I can dream, can I? And dreams can come true!"

Brick did not bother to reply. Instead, he just stared and looked at his brother getting beaten up. 'Hurry Boomer! Butch, if you don't want to cut and run, then hang on!'

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Boomer had just finished off the monster with the metallic hide.

'Where's the other monster?' he thought, as he finally saw his target. He then charged up the monster.

Aware of his diminished strength, he first decided to soften up the monster considerably by repeatedly laser-eyeing it, used laser beams from his arms, then repeatedly used his sonic boom. Two minutes into the attack, he stopped. He still didn't know how much, if at all, it had weakened the monster to his level, but he just hoped for the best. He charged, and he very surprised that the monster fell after his first punch.

The monster quickly for up on its feet and slammed him with his tail, but surprisingly for both, it didn't budge Boomer. The monster ignored the pain on its tail and decided to ram Boomer with its enormous head. He then charged at Boomer. The blond ruff decided to just stand there to test out a theory.

The monster charged and hit the rowydruff, only to hit something like a brick wall. Soon, its head was hurting, while he was unhurt. 'I get it now. That monster was not susceptible to physical attacks, but extremely vulnerable to laser attacks! What fools we have been! Now to test another one. "

He then punched hard on the monsters stomach. Surprisingly, the monster keeled. 'And this proves that the lasers have so weakened it that it's now easy to kick and punch him, even though my own was depleted.'

He grinned sadistically at the monster when he realized its implications. He then positioned himself to give the final and fatal blow to the monster. Just as he was about to move, a voice spoke to his head.

'Hey, I have something to tell you that you might want to know,' it said.

"Huh? Who are you?" Boomer suddenly said, curious.

'I'm Tom,' the voice said.

Boomer turned around to see if there was anybody talking to him. "Where are you?"

'I'm the monster you're about to kill,' Tom said.

"Ha? How are you able to talk?" asked a curios Boomer.

'I'm telepathic, stupid!' Tom's voice said in Boomer's head. 'I can't talk with my mouth, but you can talk to me in your mind. I suggest we talk that way.'

"I'm not telepathic!" Boomer responded.

'You're not, but anybody can talk to my mind if I let them to. Just reply to me in your mind and I can listen to it. It's better this way. At least those nosy camera men over there won't hear our conversation.'

'Okay, what there to talk about?' asked Boomer.

'First, promise that you won't kill me,' Tom said.

'It depends. First, it has to be important, and second, you must promise to leave this city forever and return from wherever you came from.'

'Oh it's important, kid, and I'll leave anyway. It's about the Powerpuff Girls. They sent us here to pretend to destroy the city to lure you out. Then we'll beat the stuffings out of you until you confessed your connection with Mojo. Then the girls will save you and the town, exposing who you really are. Only we decided not to pretend to destroy it, we decided to really do it!'

'Liar,' Boomer shouted in his mind. 'We know the Powerpuff Girls, and even though we dislike them very much, we know that they're not capable of doing that! You're just saying that to save your worthless hide!'

'Oh yeah? Listen kid, do you really know the girls that much? Did you know that this morning those three went to my island and pleaded to us to do this? Let me tell you a story. We monsters come from Monster Island. Now we live in Monster Island like you humans, eating, sleeping, marrying, and having kids. Now, that island was large enough to fulfil all our needs, yet some of us crave more than we need. So a few years ago, some of us started attacking the mainland, and the city nearest to the island, Townsville. However, these monsters first appearance coincided with the birth of the Powerpuff Girls, and the invasion was a miserable failure. The first monsters were killed, but the land hungry monsters continued their onslaughts.'

'Now, there came a point when we realized that we cannot win against those girls, so we decided to drop it. However, the stories of monsters who survived their encounter made them heroes to the island, and soon, monsters began going to Townsville with no other objective other than to get glory, since the Powerpuff Girls were by this time regarded as invincible, not being killed was a victory enough for us. And the Girls became something of an icon there.'

'For a time, the girls didn't know this,' Tom continued, 'but one time, one of the monsters, Steve, revealed it to them when he was disappointed that the girls acted like Super Zeroes. From that moment on, we became informal allies of the girls, though the city did not know it. One such time we cooperated was when Fred, another monster, invaded the city just to prove Major Man a phony, and it worked too.'

'That's a lie,' Boomer protested. 'We saw the tape of that incident, and there wasn't anything to prove that that is true.'

'You idiot,' the monster retorted, 'of course it wasn't caught on tape. The girls aren't stupid enough to blow their cover! If the town knew that the girls cooperated and were sometimes friends with monsters who keeps invading Townsville, think of what would happen to their reputations? Anyway, to convince you kid, let me give you a vision of what happened that wasn't on tape.'

Soon, a mental image similar to a movie entered Boomer's mind.

It was the City of Townsville about a year before, and it begins where the tape of the Major Man incident ended.

"Powerpuff Girls," the Mayor said with the crowd by his side, "we want to apologize. We didn't realize how special you are to us. We didn't know how good we had it. We're all very sorry. Will you give us another chance?"

"Well...okay," the girls said.

"Come on, everybody!" the Mayor shouted, "Let's go reinstall the hotline!"

"Yeah!" the crowd shouted.

The Powerpuff Girls remained with the monster watching the crowd clear out.

"Coast is clear, Fred," Blossom said to the monster who then opened its eyes. "Sorry we had to rough you up so much."

"That's okay. I was good, wasn't I? Wasn't I?" Fred asked.

"You were perfect," Blossom complemented. "No one suspected _we set the whole thing up_. Thanks."

"Aw...anytime, girls," Fred said. "Oh, but next time, girls...not so rough?"

The monster ended the mental image in Boomer's mind. 'It wasn't in the tape, was it?'

Boomer shook his head. This was something he would expect from Brick, but not form the Powerpuff Girls. He still staring wide eyed in disbelief.

'Yes, for some reason, the Powerpuff Girls became heroes in Monster Island, and Fred became a celebrity. There wasn't anything we wouldn't do for the girls, though we continued with the bogus monster attacks. It worked both ways. We'll get our glory, and the girls will get theirs. Of course, as a condition, we had to not kill anybody, or it's over for us. And even when the Girls did kill some of the monsters, they remained revered in our island. Anyway, just this morning, the Powerpuff Girls approached us with a request. Here, I'll give you a mental image of what happened this morning at Monster island.'

Tom was in his island, lounging about, with three of his friends, Dick, the monster with the ridiculously strong hide and an equally ridiculous soft underbelly, Harry, the winged monster, and George, the acid monster. Soon, the Powerpuff Girls arrived.

"Hi Tom, Dick, Harry and George," Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup greeted.

"Hi girls," the four monsters greeted. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, we have a little problem," Blossom began.

"A big problem," Buttercup corrected.

"Yes a big problem," Blossom said while glaring at Buttercup. "You see, there are three phonies posing as superheroes that we want exposed—"

"Like Major Man?" Dick asked.

"Yep, but there's a difference, you see, they're the Rowdyruff Boys, and they are much, much more powerful than Major Man," Blossom said. "In fact, even if I hate to admit it, they're as strong as we are."

"So it's that bad," George said.

"Yup! And they've completely fooled the people!" Buttercup said. "But that's not the worst. We know that they are secretly in alliance with Mojo, and are planning to take over Townsville. They're just doing heroic stuff to fool the people, and they did."

"And we can't fight them in public, because number one, it would ruin our reputation if we're seen by the public as starting a fight with the so-called superheroes, and two, even if the boys started the fight, we're not sure we could win it," Blossom admitted. "So what we're saying is, pretend to invade Townsville like Fred did before. Don't make any damage, but make enough noise to attract the Rowdyruff Boys. Now immediately turn on them when you see them. You four are the strongest of the monsters here in Monster Island, and could even give us the run of our money, so you probably won't have any problem with them. Now, when they're at your mercy, we would suddenly show up, and in return for saving them, they would have to confess to the people of Townsville their true nature."

"Yeah, and make sure you beat them to a bloody pulp while your at it!" Buttercup said. "We don't want them to be as strong as they are now after they've been exposed."

Bubbles was silent throughout the entire period, but her body language indicates she approves of it.

'Whatever you say girls,' Tom said to their minds. 'Anything for you. By the way, when do you want us to attack?'

"Tonight," Blossom said. "Well, we've got to go! Thanks!"

"You're welcome!" George said. "And tomorrow, the boys won't be a problem anymore."

"Okay. Girls, let's go to Dr. Edwards' office," Blossom said as they zoomed out towards Townsville.

Tom ended the mental image of the meeting.

Boomer was shocked by the mental image. 'Brick would be proud of Blossom if they weren't enemies. It's so sneaky, so damned good.'

'Yes they are,' the monster replied.

'Hey, don't read my mind!' Boomer protested.

'Sorry!'

'You're still lying,' Boomer replied. 'If you were such buddies with the Girls, then why did you betray them?'

'Not all monsters like the Powerpuff Girls. Some of us hated them intensely. We hated them for killing some of us. We hated them for thwarting our plans. We wanted to defeat them, to kill them and to destroy the city. We wanted revenge, yet we have to hide it, because most of the inhabitants of monster island worship the girls. So we pretended to like them just like everyone else, and we fooled everyone, including the girls. A group of us, including me and the three you just killed, secretly vowed to get stronger than the Powerpuff Girls! So we did everything we can to get stronger. Now, with the request of the girls, we decided it's the time to destroy Townsville. We figured that if we could defeat you three, who are just as strong as those girls, we could just as easily defeat the Powerpuffs. So instead of pretending to destroy the city, we really attempted to destroy it. And burden them with the knowledge that they were unwitting accomplices to its destruction. Now you might ask, why did I tell you? Because I wanted to save my own skin, and secondly, to at least ruin the reputation of the girls now that our plan was ruined by you two. Oh I wish I got to see their faces when they realized they've been betrayed! Now, can I go back to Monster Island?'

'Yes, but don't ever come back,' Boomer said.

'Oh yes, I won't,' Tom said as he headed out to sea to Monster Island.

Boomer turned around to see the devastation of Townsville. 'Well, the monster did a pretty good job at devastating the city,' Boomer thought. Indeed they had. Two fifths of the city was completely destroyed by the monsters and the fight. Luckily, no one died.

The people of Townsville then went back and cheered Boomer, but he ignored the cheers and went straight for his brothers.

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Blossom and Buttercup were still fighting Butch, who was so stubborn that he kept coming back for more. Brick was watching intently, while Bubbles was unsuccessful in trying to get him to talk to her.

Butch by this time has lost half of his strength, and is in danger of losing his other half because of his insistence on attacking Blossom and Buttercup even though he had no chance. He was down in the ground, ready to make another futile attempt and further diminish his strength, when Boomer arrived.

"Give it up girls, the monster spilled the beans on your plans," Boomer coldly said in a manner so uncharacteristic of him.

"Boomer, what happened?" Brick suddenly shouted. Soon, the rest of them turned to look at Boomer, and all (except Butch) were shocked. He was almost unrecognizable.

Boomer was half-naked, his shirt and sweater destroyed by acid, and parts of his skin had acid burns. He was barefoot, and his pants were torn from the knees down. He was covered with blood from the tough plated monster, his hair still dripping with it. All in all, he looked very threatening.

"Never mind that Brick," Boomer replied. "I've just taken care of the monsters and one of them just told me that the Powerpuff Girls set the whole thing up, with the monster attacks and all."

"That's not true," Buttercup shouted. "Your accusations are groundless, and you cannot make such an accusation unless you give proof!"

"You want proof?" Boomer asked. "Then come with us to monster island and we'll have a little talk with Tom. I'm sure he'll tell us how we defeated Harry, George and Dick, won't he? I let him go in exchange for him telling me what you really did. And it would have worked too, except that those monsters aren't such good friends after all, and betrayed you, and destroyed much of Townsville, and Butch and I defeated them. It seems not all monsters like you."

At that point, Blossom knew that their secret was out. She felt betrayed, angry and guilty. She counted on those monsters, and they sold her out. 'Why did you betray us? You seem so friendly that I thought I could trust you in not destroying Townsville? Oh, after this is over, that Tom will get it good! Nobody double crosses the Powerpuff Girls and get away from it. And Townsville, I'm very, very, very sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have used those monsters.' She looked down to the ground, realizing all her plans were wrecked, ruined. But she blamed it on the Rowdyruff Boys.

'It's those boys' fault!' she thought. 'None of this would have happened if it wasn't for them! Now our reputations will be ruined, wait a minute, what if?'

"Hey Boomer," Blossom suddenly asked. "Are you the only one who knows this?"

"Yes, I'm the one who knows, why?" he replied.

'Yes, they're the only ones to know,' Blossom thought as the wheels started turning in her head. Her failure only made her more determined to succeed. 'My first plan might have failed, but this should work. All we have to do is beat them up more until they confess their allegiance. They have to crack sometime. Then we'll prove to Townsville that they're liars, so even if they squeal, nobody would believe them. They're so much weaker than us, that even without Bubbles we can easily pound them. Townsville should then know how evil those boys are, and we can finally win. I'm very sorry Townsville, but we didn't know those monsters were evil.'

"I admit it was our plan, and the only mistake we did is to trust the wrong monsters to help us. I repeat my offer to you, Boomer," Blossom declared. "Avoid the fate of your two brothers and save yourself a beating. Surrender yourself to the police, then publicly admit your connections with Mojo Jojo."

"Go to hell!" Boomer shouted back.

"Blossom, are you crazy? Why did you admit it to them?" Buttercup said.

"Trust me Buttercup, I have a plan," Blossom said.

"But our reputations are ruined! They know!" her sister retorted.

"Yes, but you need to trust me on this one. We are in a desperate fight to save Townsville from Mojo and the boys! Brick, Butch, Boomer, surrender now to the police, and admit to the public your true motives, and maybe the town and your surrogate father will forgive you."

Boomer and Butch just stared incredulously while Brick did most of the talking.

"So you're not Miss goody two-shoes after all," Brick said. "So that's the reason why you didn't bother to help my brothers. And why you chose to beat me up while my brothers are in the city. You divided us so you can deal with us one by one. The monsters would keep us busy, while you yourselves deal with me. I must admit, I was impressed by your plan, yet you botched it up big time! And don't be a parrot and keep repeating your damned conditions. We won't surrender to the police and give any bogus confession!"

"You're not entirely wrong Brick," Blossom said. "Our plan was for the Tom and the others to soften you up so that you would scream for us to help you from the monsters. You being thrown into our clutches was entirely unexpected, but convenient. We decided to keep you here so that your brothers will have less chance winning against the monsters. We used the oldest rule in the book, that is divide and conquer. Those monsters failed and turned out to be evil, but it was remedied because you did our job for us by defeating them. But it did divide you long enough so that we can weaken you one by one. Give up now, boys! Even if you are together, you're so much weaker now you don't have any choice but to surrender. And don't try to run away. We're much faster than you."

"We need a few minutes to think it over," Brick said.

"Okay, but just one minute," Blossom replied. She turned to Bubbles. "Bubbles, now that they're together again, could you join us again? If you don't want to fight, just make sure they don't escape okay?"

Bubbles was unsure, but she finally nodded to her sister, since she was also present at the meeting with the monster. Buttercup was afraid of what will happen, but she decided to fully trust her sister since she had no other idea what to do.

The brothers meanwhile had a talk.

"Boomer, Butch, don't tell anybody else what you heard," Brick said, thinking of Bubbles. 'You're lucky Blossom and Buttercup, to have such a sister. Bubbles, now we're even. "Not even our Dad. The people must not know of this."

"But Brick, that's our only trump card at the moment!" Boomer protested.

"No it isn't. You've got to trust me on this," Brick said. "We know that we'll tell no one else about the girls being responsible for the monster attack. But they don't know that. So we can use this as a trump card. But anyway, my plan is…" he then told his plan.

"What Brick, are you crazy?" Butch protested after hearing their brother's plan.

"Just as crazy as Blossom, but trust me on this," Brick said. "It's the only thing that'll work."

"Okay, but only because I can't think of anything better," Butch said.

"Boomer?" asked Brick.

"I guess," Boomer replied.

"So did you decide to surrender?"

"No," the red ruff replied.

"Then you leave us no choice," Blossom said as she and Buttercup went into fighting position. "Your days of deception would be over tonight, and the Townsville shall again be safe." Bubbles went beside her sisters.

The boys also readied themselves. They don't have much chance against the girls. Brick lost three fourths of his strength when he was being beaten by Blossom and Buttercup, Butch lost half of his strength being beaten by the same girls, and Boomer three fifths of his strength being slammed against the back of Dick, the heavy plated monster with a ridiculously soft underbelly. The girls themselves were at or nearly at full strength.

But there are some bad news and good news for the Powerpuff Girls.

The bad news was, there was a hidden camera crew in the forest unnoticed by the combatants who taped the entire fight so that everyone knows what was going on. And they had no idea of the extent of devastation caused by the monsters and the fights.

The good news is, they were so far away that they didn't get any of the conversations, so the media and the public had no idea of the girls' use of the monsters.

And so, the final phase of the third clash, with the boys being at a severe disadvantage, began.

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**Author thanks**

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To **Ud the Imp**, as for Mojo Jojo, he'll be seen in the next few chapters. To **nightglider-star,**sorry for the mistake. Anyway, thanks for reading. To **Hairy Gregory,**Mojo Jojo telling everything will come in the next few chapters. As for Boomer, well, he did pretty damn good. About Brick and Bubbles, well, at least they were able to talk properly to each other. To **TJ Rose,**well, this chapter answer your questions about Boomer making it. And don't worry. No ruff or puff is going to die. That, I can at least assure you. To **sum-jackass**, well, I'm not saying what's going to happen to their reputation. You have to wait for either chapter 16, or 17. To **Uncle Sam**, well, Boomer did arrive and saved Butch from further beating. And thanks for reviewing chapter 14. To **Dooly**, well, they can and they know it, but they know that the air high above in the atmosphere is poisonous, especially ozone. On the scenes involving the girls fighting in outer space, I presumed they just held their breathe as they passed through the poisonous part of the atmosphere. And the monsters acid is so much more powerful than that of Brikowski. And I agree. Good for Bubbles. To **DL23400,**well I'm glad you didn't fall off the cliff. Keep reading! To **Somewei,**thanks. Well, Blossom is so sure of what she knows that she just can't believe it**.**To **FireStarter10388,**well, Bubbles is Bubbles. And thanks for liking the fight scenes. To **Akum,**well, she's thinking that Brick and the boys are evil that must be exposed.


	16. The Third Clash: Against Overwhelming Od...

**Allies and Rivals**

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**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

More than 100 reviews!

Before I start Chapter 16, I would like to give special thanks to all the reviewers, especially those who help push it over 100 by chapter 15. I never thought when I first uploaded chapter 1 that this story would be this long, or would have many reviewers, given this is a Rowdyruff Story. So special thanks to Hairy Gregory, Uncle Sam, TJ Rose and DL23400 for reviewing from the very beginning and almost every chapter. Also thanks to Ud the Imp, sum-jackass, Dooly, nightglider-star, Firestarter 10388 (also known as Bubblebean22), for giving those wonderful reviews later on. Thanks also to Somewei, Brytt Bratt, Akum and others I might have forgotten for taking out time to read and review my story.

Anyway, on with the story!

**Chapter 16**

**The Third Clash: Against Overwhelming Odds**

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The City of Townsville, and many parts of the city was completely devastated by the monster attacks.

Luckily, the central portion and the suburbs escaped harm, and since most people live in these parts, almost all still had houses standing. Only the business district, the park, the beach, and the skyscrapers near the coast were completely destroyed.

On their homes in the suburbs, the Citizens of Townsville were watching the fights, both of Boomer and Butch against the four monsters, and the Powerpuff Girls first against Brick alone, then Butch, then finally with Boomer, on a split screen.

One such viewer is the neighbor of Professor Utonium, the recently pardoned Harold Smith and his family. He watched Butch then Boomer kill the three monsters, then watched the blue ruff scare the last monster away. Split screen, he watched as Brick approached the Powerpuff Girls, and then the Powerpuff Girls beat him up. He then watched as Butch approached and the girls in turn beat him up with Brick by this time too weak to help, then the weakened Boomer arrived and the three prepared to fight. Soon, wheels began to turn on his head and he began to smile sadistically and rubbed his hands together. At this point, Harold Smith switched off the TV.

"Hey, I want to know what'll happen to those boys," Julie Smith complained.

"You can find out later," Harold Smith declared. "If you want revenge on those Powerpuff Girls for sending us to jail, now's the time to take it!"

"What are you talking about, Harold?" asked Mary Ann Smith, his wife.

"Just trust me, and soon, those Girls will be vomiting their own reputations, shunning it like unwanted shadows, and their name would be as sought after as the next pile of manure!" Harold said as he packed his family in his car and drove towards the heart of the devastated city.

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Meanwhile…

The Rowdyruff Boys prepared for battle. They know they don't have much of a chance, and they were relying on Brick's plan bail them out.

The Powerpuff Girls also prepared for battle. They feared that there was a chance that their reputations would be destroyed. "Remember girls, its do or die. If they don't comply with our conditions, KO them! And if it is necessary, destroy them. And remember this. They are evil boys who threaten the safety and peace of Townsville and the world. It won't be any different taking on the Rowdyruff Boys as taking on other villains," Blossom said. She then noticed Bubbles discomfiture. "Bubbles, I know you don't want to do this, and I understand. So you don't have to fight them. All you have to do is make sure Boomer doesn't escape and help his brothers. You shouldn't have any trouble holding him, 'cause he's greatly weakened. Can you at least do that, Bubbles?"

Bubbles decided that this was a satisfactory compromise between her conscience and her loyalty to her sisters. She can help them and at the same time not hurt any of the Rowdyruff Boys. "Okay," she said.

"Before you start," Brick suddenly said, "I suggest you back off, for any further hostile actions against us would force us to divulge your secret deal with the monsters with the public. In short, think of your precious reputations."

"Your attempt at blackmail is downright sneaky, yet you forget one thing," Blossom responded. "We know you're liars, and when we prove to Townsville that you're villains and liars, no one would believe a word you'll say. So again, do you accept our conditions or not?"

Brick, speaking for the boys, just spat on the ground.

"So be it," Blossom replied. "Now prepare to be defeated! Powerpuff Girls, attack!"

"What now, fearless leader!?" Butch asked.

"Just follow my plan according to the letter and maybe, just maybe, we can hold our own and not get knocked out, or…killed But remember, whatever happens, don't surrender and accept their conditions. We won't humiliate Dad by proving his enemies about us wrong, even if it means certain doom," Brick instructed, outwardly filled with confidence, yet inwardly facing the prospect that they would be defeated.

Things began to go wrong for the Rowdyruffs.

First of all was Bubbles. As fast as the speed of light, she immediately grabbed Boomer. Boomer was thoroughly caught off guard, and because of his extremely weakened state, all his struggles were futile. Soon, he just gave up and let Bubbles pummel him.

Brick saw it and was amazed. His strategy counted heavily on Bubbles not fighting, and as a result, it was wrecked. Still, he was not bitter nor did he blame Bubbles. 'Bubbles finally did the right thing,' he thought. 'Though it certainly sucks for us. Damn it, we would certainly lose this one!'

Brick was too busy looking at Bubbles and Boomer to notice Blossom approach him. In one swoop, Blossom kicked him in the face, sending him plowing through the ground. Blossom followed this up by a flurry of punches and kicks that almost exhausted Brick's energy. Brick, who was very weak to begin with, at this point was never able to summon enough energy to match Blossom's speed and strength, and was unable to put up a fight. In the end, he just found himself in the receiving end of Blossom's onslaught.

Butch was of the same plight as Brick, only worse, since Buttercup was much more savage in her assault of the green ruff. Hitting him with laser-eyes to soften him up, Buttercup followed by punching him in the stomach, then flipping to kick him in the back of the neck. She caught him by the foot before he reached the ground, tossed him high up the air. She then flew high up in the air so that she was where Butch was tossed, and in a powerful laser punch, sent him reeling down to the ground.

Only Boomer was spared a beating. That was because not only had Bubbles held him tightly, but also because she didn't make it more uncomfortable to Boomer than was necessary. He was completely surprised when Bubbles did not begin pummelling him, even if he was under her complete mercy.

After a minute of curious daze, half watching his brothers getting the daylights beaten out of them, half wondering why he himself was not being beaten up, he decided to ask his captor a question.

"Hey, why aren't you beating me up?" asked Boomer.

"Because I don't want to," Bubbles replied. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Then let go of me then!" Boomer demanded. "I need to help my brothers!"

"You'll just get yourself hurt," Bubbles replied. "Anyway, I want to tell you something?"

"You aren't going to let me help my brothers, are you?" Boomer asked.

"Nope!"

"Why not?" Boomer inquired. At least it's better than watching his two brothers get beaten up. "All right Bubbles, I'm listening."

"Okay," Bubbles began, "do you hate us?"

Boomer was surprised by the question. Nevertheless, he decided to answer the question honestly. "Well, I don't know about Butch, but Brick and I used to hate you, but not anymore."

"Let me guess why. You used to hate us because we destroyed you but not anymore because you've had your revenge on us."

"How did—" Boomer began with jaws wide open.

"Brick told me," was Bubbles reply between giggles.

Boomer was surprised that his brother would even consider talking to a Powerpuff. "Really. That's just amazing. How were you able to get him to talk?"

"It's not too hard. After Brick and Blossom finished saying their speeches to each other, and she and Buttercup focused on Butch, I saw that Brick was just standing alone watching, so I took the chance to get to know him better."

"Well, what did you know about him?" asked Boomer, interested to know about what the blue puff thinks of his brother.

"Well he's smart, in fact as smart or even smarter than Blossom, he's a good leader. He cares about his brother, yet is so proud and stubborn. He is also suspicious and he doesn't believe everything you tell him."

"That's Brick all right," Boomer said. "Tell me, did he apologize?"

"Yeah, he did," Bubbles replied. "It was funny too. Brick was all pride when he said those words, but the mere fact that he would go here alone to apologize is, to me, enough proof of his sincerity, though it's sad that Blossom and Buttercup didn't see it my way."

"Yeah it sucks, doesn't it? Could you let me go now? I promise I won't rush headlong into battle if you would," Boomer asked.

"Okay," said Bubbles, and she released him.

"Thanks," Boomer said. "I've got a question. Why are you so nice to me and my brother?"

"Because silly, you're not evil like my sisters believe you to be," Bubbles replied.

Boomer's tone suddenly became bitter. "Why then did you approve of the monster plan?" he asked, remembering the mental image the monster gave him.

"I'm really really sorry about that," Bubbles said in an apologetic tone. "Blossom at that time convinced me that you and your brothers are truly evil. But later on, your brother came and apologized, and then I knew Blossom was wrong. I'm sorry."

Bubbles transparent sincerity caused Boomer to lose his bitterness about it. Before he could reply, Brick and Butch were thrown on either side of him towards the ground. Buttercup and Blossom were soon flying towards them. But instead of continuing towards their counterparts like the blue ruff and puff expected, Blossom suddenly grabbed Boomer and tossed him to Buttercup, who kicked the blue ruff back to Blossom like a football. Blossom then punched him hard in the stomach, froze him then threw him towards Buttercup, who kicked him towards the ground besides his brothers.

Bubbles was surprised at Blossom and Buttercup's actions, but just watched helplessly. Refusing to fight was one thing, fighting her sisters for a ruff was another.

A minute later, Brick, Butch and Boomer emerged from the ground. They were in a very pitiful state. Almost all their strength and energy was gone, and one more beating would knock them out unconscious. They are very tired too, and only an unbendable will kept their eyelids from falling. Still, they had enough strength to fly, but not to fight.

Brick especially knew the situation was desperate. He was determined that he and his boys would not submit to the girls, nor would they be KO'd by them, like they did to the girls before. He has too much pride to let that happen. Plus, he knew, or thought, that their reputation would be destroyed if they lost, not that he cared about it, but because his father cared so much for their reputations. But he had no allusions about winning. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'there's no chance to win now. Even if we fought our best and the girls fought like idiots, we can't win! I think it's time to use Plan Z.'

Boomer knew they had no chance, but was as determined as their brother. Yet he honestly had no idea what to do. 'Even if Bubbles doesn't fight us, we still don't have a chance. Even if Blossom fought us alone blindfolded and with her hands tied behind her back with Duranium, she still will win.'

Butch was the only one who was gung-ho of the three, and possibly, the only one who had his senses beaten out of him by the girls. 'Ha, one more fling and they'll all beg us to not hurt them,' he thought. Fortunately, he had still some sense to wait for instructions from his brother.

"Okay, men, you may not like this, but we'll do plan Z as we practiced in Dad's lab," Brick said.

"Plan Z, are you crazy? We'll lose face! We'll lose to the girls if we do this!" Butch shouted.

"And you'll lose your life or your reputation if you don't!" Brick shouted back. "And you obviously have lost your senses! Don't you see? It's the only way to avoid being knocked out and humiliated by the girls. I for one would not want them to carry me or my brothers unconscious towards home or the police station. If you want that, then fine, go and get yourself killed! But you have to walk past my dead body to do that, because I won't go back to Dad and tell him you're dead! So stop being a selfish bastard and do as I say!"

Butch senses came back to him after his brother scolded him. He realized how wrong he was. 'Damn it! Why does Brick have to be right all the time?' "Okay, okay, I'll do it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I don't like it either!" Boomer said. "But you've got a point. We've got no other choice, unless you call getting knocked out and delivered to jail unconscious a choice."

"Glad you agreed with me," Brick said. "And my sentiments exactly. I don't like it either, but we've got to do this."

The shouting of the Rowdyruff Boys at each other have been overheard by Girls. "So you decided to come to your senses and accept our conditions?" Blossom said, more of a statement of fact than a question.

"Is that so?" replied Brick. "Ready," he whispered to his brothers. "Now!"

The three brothers summoned all their strength and raced towards an empty house just below them in the fastest time possible.

Buttercup was just about to chase them when Blossom halted her. "Blossom, what the heck? Let's chase those jerks and finish this!"

"We will, we will," Blossom said in a calm tone. "Don't freak out. No matter what they do, they cannot escape us," she said as she began approaching the empty house slowly, knowing time was on her side. "Come out, come out wherever you are you naughty boys! Don't you know it's better to admit mistakes than to get a spanking because of it?"

Seconds later, three streams of light in dark blue, dark green, and red shot from three sides of the house in three separate directions. The red one went north, the green west, and the blue east.

"It's the boys, and they're trying to escape!" Buttercup declared.

"After them!" Blossom shouted, and she chased 'Brick.' "Ha, no one mocks me, be evil at the same time and gets away with it, Brick," she shouted, as she saw the figure of the red ruff race north. "You can't get away from us, you evildoers!"

"Catch me if you can," 'Brick' said. He then flew in a straight line in one direction at incredible speed, once in a while gaining or losing altitude depending on the ground's elevation. Blossom chased after him. 'Boomer' and 'Butch' also flew at fast speed away form Townsville. Buttercup and Bubbles chased their counterparts, the former to further pound the green ruff, the latter to try to talk to the blue ruff and explain her sisters' actions.

Blossom thought catching 'Brick' would be easy. After all, he was nearly out of strength and energy and was near unconsciousness when he made a dash towards the house. She was pretty sure that it would have used up all of his energy, or so she thought. So she extremely surprised that 'Brick' was able to stay pretty way ahead of her. She soon accelerated her speed, but soon, he too accelerated his speed. And since he flew pretty much at a straight line, there was no way for Blossom to maneuver or cut him off. She just kept chasing him further and further away from Townsville. Pretty soon, they crossed state lines and were flying over open plains.

'That Brick tricked me again!' she thought, thinking of the first fight. 'They tricked us into thinking they're weak! Oh I'll give him a piece of my mind when I catch him!' "You'll never get away, Brick Edwards!" It was so frustrating.

Buttercup and Bubbles had reached similar conclusions about the 'boys' and flew faster to catch them. By this time, Buttercup and 'Butch' were in another state flying over mountains, while Bubbles and 'Boomer' are flying over the open sea.

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Meanwhile…

The Citizens of Townsville began to pick up the pieces of the wrecked town. To them, this was nothing new, as their town was destroyed several times before, and they knew exactly what to do. Besides, they had reason to be optimistic. No one, except for the monsters, had died.

Still, the feelings of the people were mixed. They definitely had a new set of superheroes, the Rowdyruff Boys, and whatever doubts they may have of the boys had vanished because of the latest incident. They forgave the boys all their faults—including their assault on the city the very first time they were created by Mojo Jojo, even though the boys themselves never even thought of apologizing to the people of Townsville for any of their mistakes and sins of the past. The people didn't mind. Saving the town from four ferocious monsters was enough. After all, they did proclaim Mojo a hero after he defeated the alien monster that even the girls couldn't handle. There was even talk of giving the boys medals.

Talk of the boys inevitably led to talk of the girls. They witnessed the fight between the boys and the girls, and these led to mixed feelings about the girls. Most people, who couldn't believe their eyes, decided to wait for the girls to offer an explanation. Unfortunately for the girls, it wasn't to be.

Harold Smith and his family walked among the crowd listening to the conversations. He heard things like, "Those boys are heroes," "Looks like the girls have met their matches", "I wonder if they'll be a couple", and "I can't believe those girls would do such a thing", "Why hasn't the girls helped the boys instead of beating them up?" to "Don't be silly. The girls wouldn't do such a thing. Let's just wait and hear both sides" and stuff. Harold Smith smiled. 'This is the perfect opportunity,' he thought.

He soon found a pile of debris and rubble and climbed up. He stood high above the people. He grabbed a microphone, and straightened himself up to give himself a dignified look.

"People of Townsville!" he shouted. Soon all the people looked at him. "Today we have suffered a great tragedy, and as an average citizen of Townsville, I feel your sorrow and your pain at the devastation that occurred here. So we must unite and move together to get this behind us."

The people of Townsville listened intently at Harold Smith.

"But, before we could do that," his tone changing from hopeful to wicked, "we must rid the town of traitors who brought this disaster upon us!"

"Yes," one man in the crowd, Pat Krodoc, shouted. "But the monsters are already destroyed, Smith."

"Yes Krodoc, but I'm not talking about monsters," Smith shouted. "I'm talking about somebody who lives among us who caused the monsters' destruction of Townsville!"

"Mojo Jojo!" one of the citizens, Harry Long shouted.

"No, no no!" Smith said, frustrated. "Mojo's in jail so he couldn't possibly be it. No, it's someone whom you hold dear to your hearts, but is actually not that good!"

"Major Man!" one shouted.

"No, Major Glory!"

"No," Harold Smith shouted in exasperation. "It's the Powerpuff Girls! The Powerpuff Girls!"

"But they're heroes. They wouldn't do something like that!"

"Oh no? Then look at the evidence. You saw that while the blue and green ruffs were battling the monster, saving the city, that the Powerpuff Girls were beating up their brother, the red ruff, while he was asking the girls for help!"

"But why would they do that?" asked another citizen.

"Who cares why they did that?" Smith replied. "The important thing is that they did what they did and we have evidence on tape. But if you want a reason, I'll give you one. The girls are jealous of the boys. They feel threatened by them. They felt that those boys will replace them as superheroes, so what do they do? They beat one of them up while his brothers are fighting for the city, and they beat his brothers after the same boys saved our city! Instead of helping save the city, they ignore it while they dish out their wrath on their fellow superheroes. Why? Because they're jealous, that's why! So now, you must decide. Will you let this thing go unpunished!"

"No!" the crowd roared.

"Then get rid of the Powerpuff Girls!" Smith shouted

Soon, the crowd has turned into a fiercely anti-Powerpuff Mob.

Mary Ann Smith and her family joined Harold at the top of the debris. "I'm very proud of you Harold. You've turned this town against those girls. Now we have revenge."

"Don't only thank me. Thank those Powerpuff Girls for assisting in their own destruction. All I did is convince these idiots what I want them to think about those girls."

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Meanwhile…

In the empty house below the place where the boys and girls fought, the Rowdyruff Boys waited for the opportunity to escape.

"Is it safe to go out now?" asked Boomer.

"Yeah, I think so," Brick said. "Let's go home. We've accomplished our mission. You've defeated the monster, and I've given my apology, so let's go home and tell Dad."

"But we lost—we lost to those damned girls!" Butch complained.

"No we haven't," Brick replied. "We just retreated."

"We run away! And that's admitting defeat!" Butch replied.

"We made a strategic and tactical withdrawal," Brick said. "We didn't win, yet we didn't lose."

"Call it what you want," Butch retorted. "We still run away!"

"Yes we did because that's the only choice we've got," Brick replied. "What would you have us do, battle to the death? Sorry, but I'm not that kind of boy. This was the only alternative, so I took it!"

"Brick's right, Butch," Boomer added. "It's better like this, at least we didn't lose."

"We didn't win either," Butch said.

"Yes, we didn't win," Brick said. "So let's go home. Then we can plot revenge."

"Let's go home!" Boomer seconded.

So the boys flew towards the city to go to the suburbs at the other end of town. They were so weak that they flew slowly. They were so slow that it took ten minutes to reach the main city that they should have reached in seconds had they been in full strength.

"So it's this bad," Brick commented as he saw the city.

"Yeah," Boomer replied as they slowly floated over the city. Soon, they passed over a crowd listening to a bald average looking middle age man making a speech.

"Hey, it's the boys!" one of the people in the crowd shouted. Soon, the crowd began to cheer for the boys.

The boys looked down and saw the crowd cheer them on. At once, Brick felt a sudden revulsion and contempt for the people. "Look at them, the wonderful people of Townsville," he said to his brothers with a scarcely disguised sarcasm, "cheering like the dogs they are for their master who delivered them from the pound. Pathetic. They're so stupid and idiotic they can't even stand on their own feet. They're lucky Dad's properties are all over Townsville, or they would've been screwed by those monsters."

"Hey, how does it feel to be a superhero!" one of the people in the crowd shouted.

"I'm no superhero," Brick shouted. "I'm just doing this for Dad, Dr. William Edwards and—" but fortunately for the boys' reputation, that last shout took the last of his energy, and he collapsed in mid-air from exhaustion. His brothers quickly caught him before he fell. He was about to say "not you useless, whimpering people of Townsville who couldn't even tie you own shoes or doesn't even knows what will happen to a toaster in a bathtub. You make me sick."

"Let's go home before we fall too," Boomer suggested. Butch just nodded. Soon, both of them were slowly flying towards their home, carrying an unconscious Brick with them. They ignored the shouts and cheers of the people, Butch, like Brick disgusted, while Boomer, for some reason liked it, but didn't say anything.

"Ah, aren't they modest," one woman shouted. "They're really true heroes!"

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Meanwhile…

William Edwards was talking all night to a business colleague from the other side of the country. He was so busy talking business that he didn't even bother switching the TV or radio to hear the latest news. He just was clutching the business section of the day's paper for quick reference.

At around 12 midnight, he finally concluded the deal. "Okay Tom, you'll get the contract for the product at four million dollars. Okay, talk to you tomorrow."

As soon as hung up the phone, it rung again. "Hello? What do you want Sandy?" he said, the memory of the nights event still fresh in his mind.

"Oh I'm very sorry for not believing you earlier," Sandra Keane suddenly said in an apologetic tone. "And I'm sorry for what happened to the boys."

"What happened to my boys?" he said in a worried tone.

"You mean you still don't know? Go and switch the TV."

"Okay, bye," he said as hung up the phone. He was about to switch the TV when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly opened it and saw his boys.

"What the…what happened?" he said as he stared at his three boys. Brick was bruised all over and unconscious, Boomer was half naked with acid burns and scars, and Butch was just bruised.

"We…" Butch began, but before he could finish, he suddenly collapsed. Before Dr. Edwards could ask Boomer, Boomer went to the couch, lay there, and soon was fast asleep.

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Meanwhile…

Blossom was two states away chasing at almost full speed, 'Brick.' She was getting frustrated, but suddenly, 'Brick' began to slow down. Soon, he stopped. Blossom was about to grab him when he suddenly disappeared. On 'Brick's' place was a small metallic cylindrical device, about four inches long, and with a diameter of a quarter, with a long antennae attached at the end. There were many buttons on it. Blossom pressed one and a full holographic image of Brick in flying position suddenly materialized. It looked so real that if she didn't know better, she would have thought this was the real Brick. She again pressed the button and the hologram disappeared. She pressed another button, "catch me if you can" suddenly played on the speaker. She pressed several buttons, and a series of taunts began playing. She then read the labels on the device.

"Decoy—made by Edtech Corp. Invented by Dr. Edwards."

"So it was only a decoy," Blossom said to no one in particular. She gritted her teeth, and tightly clutched the decoy device. 'That Brick! Outfoxed me again! Those boys were so weak so they had to resort to cheap tricks! I hope Bubbles and Buttercup already saw this.'

Blossom then halted and raced towards the forest outside Townsville, angry at the prospect of losing those boys. A few minutes later, at top speed, she reached Townsville, and saw Bubbles. "Bubbles…" she began.

"I know, Blossom, this are just decoys," she said, showing the leader another cylindrical metallic object.

A few minutes later, Buttercup arrived. "Oh those boys are going to get it," she said, waving another cylindrical object in front of Blossom's face. "It's all your fault leader girl! If you just had let me chase them immediately, they wouldn't have time to set up these decoys, and we wouldn't be again humiliated! It's all your fault! You and your leadership, bah!"

"My fault! My fault," Blossom said, pointing at herself. "Don't blame me for not following my orders! If there's anybody to blame, it's you, you, you! You fought lousily and if you just followed my orders to the letter, this wouldn't have happen. Your insubordination once again cost us!"

Soon, the sisters were once again engaged in an intense shouting match blaming each other for what happened.

After a while, Bubbles could take it no longer. "Shut up!" she suddenly shouted. Both sisters stopped and just looked at their blond sister.

"Please don't fight anymore. I just want to go home," she said, nearly in tears.

"It's alright, Bubbles," Blossom comforted. "We're just having a slight disagreement. And you're right. Let's just take a look at Townsville and call it a day. I'm tired."

"I'm with you, Red," Buttercup said. "Let's just go home."

And so the three puffs went over to Townsville and saw the extent of the devastation the monster fights had caused. This caused a surge of guilt through the Powerpuff Girls, as they knew they were partly responsible for its destruction. 'I'm very sorry Townsville, I really am,' Blossom said in her head.

"Hey, it's those Powerpuff Girls," one of the people in the crowd shouted. Soon, the town saw them and began heckling them.

The girls looked at the town and were surprised at the pure hatred she saw in their words and eyes.

"They hate us," Buttercup suddenly said. "They know we sent those monsters."

"No they don't," Blossom suddenly said. "The boys haven't told them yet. It must be Him who's responsible. Remember the last time Him controlled Townsville into hating us? He must have done it again."

"Yeah, that must be it," Bubbles added.

"Let's go home and see if the Professor's all right," Buttercup said. Soon, all three puffs raced to their homes.

They soon reached the door. They saw the Professor waiting at the door.

"I'm very disappointed with you girls," he said in a calm tone.

"Professor, we didn't mean to sneak out tonight, we did it for the City, because those boys are evil," Blossom began.

"It's not that. I just learned the truth about those boys, and they're not evil like you think. You just did a great injustice to them and the city."

"But Professor," Blossom began.

"Before you continue, I would like you to talk to my guest," the Professor said and led them to the living room. There, they saw Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum, all with disappointed faces looking at them, the Mayor, and…Mojo Jojo?

* * *

**Author Thanks**

* * *

**BrYtt Bratt,**long time no see, and thanks. Though it makes them look like bad guys, the fact is, they're not. They just made bad decisions for a good cause that just spun out of their control. It's shocking, but they did do it

* * *

To **Somewei,**she's my favorite character too. You're right, she is being stupid, but her stubbornness is also a factor. Yeah, I agree with the hotheaded part. And she's too smart for her own good.

* * *

To **Ud the Imp,**you forgot Machiavelli, treachery, tattle tail, deviousness, sneakyness, Benedict Arnold. Thanks for reading.

* * *

To **nightglider-star,**thanks. No, it won't be a Bubbles/Brick.

* * *

To **Hairy Gregory,** well, its just the last of a long list of underhanded things she has done, but I agree this latest one is the most low and the one that has gone so wrong.

Good thing too. As you've read, the people of Townsville had no idea that the girls called those monsters, or about the girls thinking the boys are evil stuff. Good for the girls.

* * *

To **Uncle Sam,**thanks. As for Mojo Jojo, it's in the next chapter.

* * *

To **TJ Rose,**actually, they didn't cheat. As the saying goes, Alls Fair in Love and War, and there certainly war between the RRB and the PPG. Well, only the PPG and the RRB knows about it, and its an open question whether or not the RRB will spill the beans. But most likely not. And I don't think the girls will confess it. Well, you've hit it on the nail with what the people of Townsville are thinking.

* * *

To **Dooly**, glad you like it. No, Brick didn't because one, he didn't even plan on going that fight, since he didn't expect his Dad to know about his lying to Blossom and him apologize that night. It was just a coincidence.

Yeah me too. Maybe the villains look human, while the monsters looked frightening, but I don't know, just maybe.

As to the levels of strength, if you've noticed I deleted it. I guess I've watched too much DBZ where the power levels can be measured. And you're right about them not knowing about it. However, if you've noticed, I used the power levels on the last chapter only as the narrator describing it, since the narrator uses an omnipotent point of view, and knows all. And the characters only know their strength in comparison to others and to their top strength, not the exact values, and you've noticed that the last chapter had none of the characters saying that he has one third or two fifths strength. Only the narrator uses it. However, I won't use it in later chapters because I agree that it is unrealistic. Anyway, thanks for the thought.

* * *

To **Dr. Pill**, thanks for reading and reviewing. Well, the RRB already did that twice before.

* * *

To **Firestarter 10388,**well, I hope this chapter answers your question.


	17. Realization of Truth

**Allies and Rivals**

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

**Chapter 17**

**Realization of Truth**

* * *

The City of Townsville…

"Mojo Jojo?" Buttercup exclaimed, surprised. "What is he doing here?"

"Yeah Professor," Blossom added. "Isn't he supposed to be in jail?"

"I should be in jail today, but I'm not because Professor Utonium here deemed it necessary that I be here, though I, Mojo Jojo, the greatest evil mind in this side of the galaxy, would like to add that I certainly don't need his help to be here, since I can certainly escape on my own, but since the Professor deemed it necessary to get me out of jail for reasons I will shortly tell you, I grabbed the opportunity. Though I would like to add that even if I can't escape, which I certainly can do, I would have gotten out tomorrow by right of habeas corpus since no charges has been filed against me, as I was detained by you for no reason whatsoever, that day! So furthermore—"

"Alright, we get it!" Buttercup shouted.

"What reasons?" asked Blossom.

"Well, Blossom," the Professor explained, "just after you convinced me, Ms. Keane and Ms. Bellum that the boys are evil, I was sure that you're right about the boys. Yet a nagging voice in my head kept telling me that you were wrong. I don't want to believe it—that suspicion that kept lingering in my mind. Yet too many things don't fit your theory about the boys. One, I knew William Edwards for more than forty years, and rarely in my entire life did I remember when he was deceived. That's not just the William I know. He's no fool, that's for sure. And it's just inconceivable that he would be fooled by three six-year-olds in such a massive scale that you've described. I just can't believe it. I've many more reasons to doubt it, but that alone is enough to make me cringe. Now, after I found out you've sneaked out, after explicitly telling you not to," the Professor then glared at the girls, "I decided to settle it by calling Mojo Jojo. Now, it seems to me that the principal partner in the alleged alliance that you have accused the Rowdyruff Boys of is denying that such an alliance exists."

"What?" Bubbles asked.

"It meant that Mojo denied the alliance," Blossom explained. "Don't deny it Mojo Jojo! Bubbles heard you and the boys talk."|

"Now why should I admit an alliance?" Mojo Jojo incredulously replied. "Yes, I admit, I proposed that the Rowdyruff Boys and I join forces to destroy you, the Powerpuff Girls, and take over Townsville, because I thought that those boys were still evil. Yes, my brilliant mind still thought that the boys were still the boys I created that were able to defeat you, though you foiled it by kissing them, destroying them, and so I proposed an alliance with them. Yet I was mistaken, wrong, misguided, ill-advised, erroneous in thinking that they remained the same, for they have not. They have changed, and for the worse. They are not the perfect killing machines that I made them to be. And it's all the fault of Dr. Edwards. They are like you girls, disgustingly so. They refused me. Imagine that, they refused me, Mojo Jojo, the most evil of evil criminals, and the most brilliant mastermind. They said that they cannot join forces with me, because they already defeated you! I can't believe that they had the gall of refusing me! I realized that they are sissies like you, superheroes who actually care! Yuck! So don't embarrass me by proclaiming to everyone that I'm in alliance with those boys. It's degrading, mortifying, shameful, and totally unbecoming of a villain."

"Liar! You were clearly heard—" Blossom began, but before she could finish, Mojo cut her off.

"I anticipated that your narrow mind would fail to appreciate, recognize and acknowledge the merits of my brilliant arguments, so I brought proof," Mojo Jojo said. He then got two remote controls, one for the TV and another for the VCR. He switched the TV on. "Here is a surveillance tape of my secret laboratory hideout on the volcano-top observatory on the day of the alleged forming of the alliance with the boys." He then pressed the play button on the remote of the VCR, and the tape began to play.

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**VCR Scene…**

The scene opened with an empty volcano top observatory. A few minutes later, the Rowdyruff Boys broke through the roof, and sat Mojo in the chair.

On the background, unseen by the boys and Mojo in the film, but seen by the watchers of the VCR, Bubbles suddenly appeared by a window.

"Boys, now that we're together, we can take over Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," Mojo Jojo said.

"Of course, we'll go back to you and together, we can rule all of Townsville and destroy the Powerpuff Girls," Brick seemingly replied.

…**End of VCR Scene**

* * *

Blossom took the remote and pressed the pause button. "You see, that is the proof I've been talking about. And there's Bubbles who heard it all!" Blossom declared, thinking she was vindicated.

"It's not over, idiot," Mojo said as he grabbed the remote from Blossom's hand and pressed the play button.

* * *

**VCR Scene…**

Bubbles in the background suddenly disappeared.

"Of course we won't! We don't want to _destroy_ the Powerpuff Girls and we certainly don't need you to _defeat_ the Powerpuff Girls! And we won't destroy Townsville, or take over it!" Brick continued, proving once and for all that his previous statement was pure sarcasm and proved Blossom was wrong.

…**End of VCR Scene**

* * *

Blossom lost all her self confidence and self-assurance as she heard those fateful words. 'No it can't be!'

* * *

**VCR Scene…**

"As we were saying, we can't and won't help you defeat the Powerpuff Girls because we already defeated those girls, and if you can't beat them by yourself, then it's your problem, not ours," Boomer continued on the VCR recording.

"And Dad pretty much owns much of Townsville, so we don't need to take over it," Butch added with pride of his father.

"Dad? What are you talking about?" the confused monkey asked.

"So Mojo, we don't care if you attack Townsville, and we certainly won't stop you like we would other villains, but if you hurt one hair of our Dad, or place even one scratch at any of his properties, you will suffer a fate worst than what you suffer when beaten by those pathetic girls!"

"You forget I'm your father, your Dad. And I certainly don't know what you're talking about!" Mojo asserted.

"You're certainly our original creator, Pops, but we don't consider you our father. Dr. William Edwards recreated us, and he certainly is more of a father to us than you were and will ever be. So Mojo, we don't want to hurt you, inasmuch as you created us, but touch one hair of Dad or his properties, and we won't hesitate to thrash you," Brick warned.

"William Edwards, hm, isn't he the pathetic man who—" but he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

Butch suddenly punched him in the face which caused him to be embedded on the opposite wall of his observatory. He soon fell to the ground, leaving his silhouette in the wall.

"And don't ever badmouth our Dad, Mojo!" Boomer said.

Mojo was dizzy, but he was able to stand and walk over to a chair and sit. None of the boys helped him.

"But what if I attack Townsville without causing any damage to his property? Will you leave me alone?"

"Pretty much," said Brick.

"Okay. HEY, I can't attack any part of Townsville without damaging any of his property?" Mojo protested when he realized the implications of his boys' condition.

"Well, that's your problem," Butch said. With that, they left the building and went home.

"Curse you boys!" Mojo shouted, shaking his fist at the retreating figures of the boys. "I disown you, I refuse to acknowledge you as my sons, I deny you were created by me! Traitors! Betrayers! Judases! Yes, join the good guys and be sissies, you morons!"

…**End of VCR Scene**

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Blossom and Buttercup just stared at the large screen even as Professor Utonium switched off the TV. They were totally shocked. Everything that they believed in, everything that they used to justify their actions, in fact the basis of everything that they did and how they acted towards the Rowdyruff Boys in the past few days, was false.

Bubbles feelings were mixed. She was vindicated, and she was happy about that, but she was sad for her sisters.

"I'm very disappointed girls," Professor Utonium coldly and gravely said. "Not only did you do a grave injustice to them, but in the process you destroyed your own reputations."

"What do you mean?" asked Blossom, dreading the answer.

The Professor responded by grabbing the TV remote control and switching it on. "It's all over the news. The Powerpuff Girls were beating Brick while his brothers were saving Townsville because they are jealous of the Rowdyruff Boys. To make it worse, Harold Smith turned the entire town against you. Just listen to this."

"This is Stanley Whitfield reporting live from the center of Town where a crowd is chanting anti-Powerpuff slogans. Leading them is Harold Smith. Now for an exclusive interview. Mr. Smith, how do you attribute Powerpuff's unbelievable recent actions?"

"It's very simple, Stan. The Powerpuff Girls were just showing their true colors. They only want the adulation and praise of Townsville. So when their position was threatened by the appearance of the Rowdyruff Boys, they beat them up."

"But Professor, that's not true! We weren't jealous of the boys!" Bubbles suddenly said.

"I know that, and I know you're better than that," the Professor continued. "But the thing is, you acted in such a way that would make the people susceptible to demagogues like Harold Smith. If you hadn't done what you did, the people wouldn't believe a word Smith says."

"You thought that they were evil, and you just did what you thought was right, and I perfectly understand that. But your actions tonight are inexcusable," he said, raising his voice. "You could've at least helped the boys destroy the monsters first then beat them up afterwards if you believed they're just doing it for show and are really evil. And evil or no, you should at least have set aside your differences to save the city. At least they did save the city tonight. Now why didn't you help them?"

The girls could not answer it, because the real reason was that they were in cahoots with the monsters in the first place, and they had a deal, or they thought they had, that the monster would not actually destroy anything, just beat up the boys.

"Well, Professor, we didn't know there was a monster attack until it was too late," Blossom lied. She was determined that it was one secret that the Professor and the town must never find out, because it would permanently ruin their reputations if that happened. Blossom looked at her sisters and both concurred.

"It's true, Professor," Buttercup seconded. "We didn't hear the hotline."

"Well, if you didn't sneak out in the first place," the Professor continued, believing their explanation, "then you would have known. How could you have been so irresponsible? And have you considered how Dr. Edwards and the boys are feeling? You just beat them to a pulp after they just saved the city, after you had just humiliated their father in front of us. You should have been more trusting. Girls, I am very disappointed in you. Now, what's your explanation, because I know in my hearts of hearts that you only acted in the best interests of the city?"

But the girls were thinking of something else to heed the Professor's words.

'We were wrong. We were so wrong,' Blossom thought. Suddenly, the enormity of it all suddenly hit her, and under the strain of it all, she buckled. Tears began dropping for her eyes, and she suddenly bawled loudly, and rushed to her room.

"Blossom," Buttercup shouted, and she chased after her sister. Bubbles followed both her sisters.

"Girls!" the Professor shouted, but before he could start on the stairs, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

He looked around, and saw Ms. Keane shaking her head at him. "Let them cry it out," she said. "They had a hard day, and all of it coming on them all at once is just too much. Let them deal with it on their own, and just come and comfort them after that. You know the girls, they're feeling very sorry right now."

"I guess you're right," Professor Utonium said. "Have I been too hard on the girls? My tone was harsh, my words cruel and I nearly shouted?"

"Just harsh enough given the gravity of their fault," Ms. Bellum interrupted.

"Uh, excuse me," Mojo Jojo suddenly said. "But I'm getting sick of all this fluffiness and all this sentimentalism makes me want to vomit. I would like to announce that I am leaving this house to go to my secret volcano top observatory to plot the destruction of the Powerpuff Girls!"

"No one's stopping you Mojo Jojo. But behave, or I'll send the girls after you," the Professor said.

"Just try it, and I'll crush them like the flies that they are, and like the little bugs that they are, I shall swat them for I am Mojo Jojo!" he said right before he exited the room and closed the door.

"Sandy, Sarah, it's just that it's too much," Professor Utonium said. "I mean the girls have done many naughty things in the past, but this takes the cake! At least we know that they did this because they thought it was best for the town."

"John," Sandra asked. "I know I'm silly in asking this, but will you forgive the girls?"

"And you're very silly in asking that question," the Professor suddenly replied in a harsh tone. "They're my angels, my life, my precious daughters, my princesses. Even if they destroyed the earth on purpose I would still love them and I would forgive them. As soon as they feel sorry and ask for forgiveness, I'll let them know that I've already forgiven them in my heart. But don't ever ask such stupid questions again, do you understand?"

Ms. Keane was taken aback by his reaction, but understood. "Yes John, I know. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," the Professor said. "Sandra, could you do me a favour? You're a woman, and I think you could better comfort them now than me. I'm still angry at what they've done that I can't right now."

"Of course, John," Ms. Keane replied.

"Now, Ms. Bellum, let's save the girls' reputation," he said, turning to the Mayor's assistant, the confidence in his voice returning. "First of all is William. Among all the people, he's the one who's the most dangerous to lose. For one, he has the boys. Two, he has wealth and power. And three, he was, aside from the Rowdyruff Boys, the one most wronged by all of this. I'll make a call and try to explain things to him. Maybe he'll forgive the girls, or maybe not. I could only hope. Now, could you and the mayor go to the town and try to talk sense to the people?"

"We'll try, but I can't promise you anything. It's not like the Mayor can give any intelligent speeches that will sway the masses or something. I mean the only reason he wins is that nobody bothers to run against him, except that time when Fuzzy accidentally ran, and we all know what happened."

"Yeah, it was a disaster alright. Not to disparage the Mayor, but I still can't figure out how the people can dislike the mayor and the mayor still be in office after forty years. Back on topic, so you can't persuade the people?"

"No. They won't listen."

"Looks like I would have to do it myself then. I hope that the town has enough sense left," he said. "Could you do me a favor and watch the girls while I go and check on the Edwardses?"

"Of course," Ms. Bellum replied.

"Thanks," he said as he went and picked up the phone and dialled Dr. Edwards' number.

"Hello?" Dr. Edwards said.

"This is John," Professor Utonium said.

"What is it now?" said Dr. Edwards, his tone very cold.

"You probably know by now what happened," Professor Utonium replied. "I would just want to apologize for my conduct this evening and for the misguided actions of my girls."

"Look, as you probably know by now, I'm busy taking care of my boys. If you want to apologize, be a man and come here at my house, then we could have a nice long talk about it. But don't say it on the phone. And in case you don't know my address, it's…" and he told the Professor his address.

"But William, I can't—"

"You don't have a choice in the matter. Either you come here or don't even think of apologizing to me!" Dr. Edwards harshly said before hanging up the phone.

"I guess I'll have to come and apologize in person," Professor Utonium said to Ms. Bellum. "I'll be back soon." He then went and wore his coat and hat, and went straight for the garage.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"We did a very terrible thing, Buttercup, Bubbles," Blossom said, sobbing all the way, wetting her blanket.

"Actually, it was our fault only, excluding Bubbles," Buttercup said. She was not crying because of her will, but every part of her body was telling her to. "Those boys are jerks, yet they're not evil! Oh Bubbles, how could we have been so blind? We should've listened to you, and now, because we didn't, we just blew our reputations away!"

"And Brick apologized for lying about it, and I didn't believe him," Blossom said, crying further. "It's all my fault. I was too suspicious, too proud, and too prejudiced to see through it. And what did we do? We risked the destruction of Townsville."

Bubbles cried for her sisters. "Don't feel too bad, it isn't the end of everything. You just did what you thought was right."

"And you knew it was wrong, and you told us," Blossom said. "And we didn't listen. We then beat up three innocent, or not so evil boys, who also saved the day. Sure they lied to us about their involvement with Mojo, but they apologized for it and admitted that it was a lie, right before we beat them up too. We also let monsters nearly destroy all of Townsville. Tell me, is that the way a Powerpuff should act? Is that the way a superhero should act?"

Bubbles didn't reply.

"And we let the Professor down. We let Dr. Edwards down. Worst, we let the people of Townsville down," Buttercup added.

Blossom then stood up the bed and dried her tears. "In the last few hours, I made a series of bad decisions which led to disaster. I refused to listen to Bubbles or Dr. Edwards regarding the boys, I made Dr. Edwards look bad, and I made a deal with powerful monsters to beat up three boys that turned out not to be evil, and I made it worst by beating them up. Therefore, I resign from being the leader of the Powerpuff Girls to be effective as soon as a suitable replacement comes forward. These bad decisions render me unfit to hold such a position. I offer it to Bubbles, who among all three of us, deserves it most."

Blossom's action stupefied her sisters. It was so unexpected, so not Blossom, that it took her sisters several seconds for the decision to register in their brains.

"You can't!" Buttercup said. Though in reality, she thought that Blossom should've offered it to her instead. "You're our leader. There's no one else like you!"

"And some leader I am!" Blossom replied. "I led you two into this disaster, and I feel that I don't deserve to be the leader anymore."

"You feel wrong Blossom," the blond puff said. "You're still the best leader we could hope for."

"No Bubbles," the pink puff said. "You deserve to be the leader and I know you will be better than me."

"No Blossom," her blue clad sister replied. "You are the leader not because you make bad decisions some of the time, but because you have other skills and qualities that make a good leader. You make quick decisions based on what you know, and you can command us when it matters the most. Remember, you led us to more wins in the past, and this is just one defeat. And making bad decisions is part and parcel of being a leader. Don't quit on us Blossom. A leader who quits at the middle of a crisis is coward. Don't run away from this. Don't run from this responsibility. Stop your self-pity. It's so unbecoming of you. So I respectfully decline your offer. You should remain as the leader."

"Buttercup?" asked Blossom.

"Bubbles' is right. You'd be a chicken if you quit on us now. Don't run away from problems, Red. Just face them and stare them down!"

"Well, okay then, I'll be your leader still," Blossom said. 'But after this is over and things are back to normal, I'll resign. That way, they can't blame me for quitting on a crisis.' Fortunately, it was not to be.

"Wonder what Dr. Edwards and the boys are thinking of us right now?" asked Buttercup.

"They probably hate us, as do the rest of Townsville," Blossom said. "If they do, I don't blame them. What a waste. We wasted our friendship with Dr. Edwards, and our reputations too."

"I hope not," Bubbles responded. "I actually like them, even if they can be jerks sometimes. Poor Dr. Edwards. I wonder how's he feeling right now after we embarrassed him and saw his boys?" At that thought, she again cried. "And it's all our fault."

"No, it's not. You're not to blame Bubbles," Buttercup said. "Blossom and I are the only ones at fault here, not you."

"Yeah Bubbles, I'm very proud of you. You did great tonight. You did what was right. You acted just like a true Powerpuff should, not like your sisters," Blossom said, ashamed. "I also feel terrible on how we treated Dr. Edwards. He was so friendly, and he patched us up after each of the fights. And this is how we repay him."

Ms. Keane entered the room to find Blossom and Bubbles crying, while Buttercup was just staring at the wall, her eyes ready to tear up, but she mustered all her will to prevent her from crying. 'I am strong. I will not cry,' she keeps telling herself.

"Girls, it alright," Ms. Keane comforted.

"No it's not alright Ms. Keane," Blossom said. "Did you know what we just did, what kind of a person we had become because of what we did? How could you even look at us? We're monsters, no different from the villains we fought in the past!"

"Now don't say that," Ms. Keane said. "Yes I know what you did, and I'm not proud of that. Girls, are you sorry for what you've done?"

"Yes we are," Buttercup said. "You don't know how really sorry we are. But how could you forgive us? How could we expect anyone to forgive us? What we did is so terrible."

"Because you were sorry, and that's good enough for me," Ms. Keane said. "Listen girls, it's not what you've done in the past that matters, it's how you felt about it. You feel remorse, you feel sorry, you feel the need to be forgiven, and that's what separates you from the rest. And your intentions too. No matter what you do, you did it with the conviction that you were right, that you were doing it for the greater good of Townsville. You're no monsters, girls. You're basically decent girls who just made mistakes. What matters is that you regret it, realize that you were wrong, apologize to those you've hurt, and move on."

"Really?" asked Blossom.

"Yes Blossom, Buttercup, Bubbles. That is why you should stop this self-pity and once again become the superheroes that Townsville can be proud of. Yes, you made a horrible mistake and it has lots of consequences, but you're sorry and you should put this behind you."

"But what about Dr. Edwards and the Rowdyruff Boys?" asked Bubbles.

"They're the ones who were most hurt by this," Ms. Keane said. "You should apologize to them. The Professor is in Dr. Edwards' house talking to him right about now. Though it would be much better if you apologize to him personally. Maybe you'll win back his friendship. As for the boys, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to win their friendship after this. The best you could hope right now is partnership in fighting crime."

"Okay Ms. Keane, thanks. I feel much better now," Blossom said.

"Yeah, thanks for the kind words," Buttercup said, then suddenly hugged Ms. Keane and started crying on her. "Oh thank you," she said between sobs.

"Thanks, Ms. Keane," Bubbles said, and sobbed a little. "I guess we should move on after apologizing."

"Now girls, always remember, no matter what, the Professor and I will always love you and always take care of you," Ms. Keane said as she exited the room.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

The Professor checked the address Dr. Edwards gave him. He was surprised to see that his former friend's house was just a regular suburban two story house on the outside. He expected it to be a mansion or a palace or just a very big house given his wealth. 'Still modest as always, William.' He parked his car and rang the doorbell.

"Get in John," Dr. Edwards' voice shouted from upstairs.

John Utonium entered the house. He was surprised that the front door of his house was unlocked. He looked around the first floor, and noted the simplicity of the decorations. The windows only had venetian blinds. There was a large TV with a couch across it, and on the walls were some old family portraits. But the one he immediately noticed was a small picture of him and his boys posing, then on another part of a wall were three framed pictures of his boys. There were no flowers, and the table has no cloth covering it, no expensive or even cheap vases. But that was to be expected on a household that had no female occupants. And all the things were organized meticulously, giving the impression that it was fixed for convenience with little regards to appearance.

He went straight to the second floor, and went to the room where he heard the doctor. He entered, and saw Dr. Edwards watching over his boys like the father he was. All his boys were bandaged in some form or another, and they all were unconscious. Of the three, Boomer had it worst, as almost his entire body excluding his face was bandaged. Brick was next and Butch was the least damaged. Besides them were all medical equipment and technology. Also beside them was a TV that was broadcasting the latest news. The scene strongly reminded the Professor of when it was his girls that was unconscious after a fight.

"How are they?" asked the Professor.

"Not too bad," Dr. Edwards said. "This kind of beating would normally kill anybody else, but the chemical X and the other ingredients made them much tougher than that. They would all heal completely in two to three days. Even Boomer's acid and scars should disappear within a week. They're just resting right now. Even after all this, after all what we've been through, it still amazes me how strong the bodies of the boys are."

"You know what already happened?" asked the Professor.

"How could I not? It's in every TV station!" Dr. Edwards said.

"William, I would like to inform you that anything I say tonight would change nothing between us. I would like to apologize for not believing you earlier. You were right about the boys," the Professor said.

"And what happened that made you change your mind?" Dr. Edwards sceptically asked.

"I asked Mojo Jojo if there was really an alliance between him and the boys," the professor said. "Looks like Blossom was wrong and you're right. They were just being sarcastic. And the boys lied when they told the girls they had an alliance with Mojo."

"Apology accepted. I would have believed her if I didn't know my boys as well as I did," Dr. Edwards said. "And my Brick already apologized to your girls for lying, so I think we're even."

"He did?" asked a surprised Professor.

"Well, at least I think he did," he said. "You see, I sent him to apologize to the girls while his brothers fought off the monsters. So I was definitely surprised to learn that your girls beat up all three of my boys."

"If he did, then my girls didn't believe them," replied a glum Professor. "They only realized that they're not evil when Mojo showed them a tape of the entire conversation. They thought they were lying because of that conversation which Bubbles misheard, and they thought that their apology was part of their big deception plan—"

"You have the tape? Could I have a copy? I want to know how that conversation really happened," asked Dr. Edwards.

"Oh, I'll make a copy for you right away," the Professor replied. "Oh, and by the way, I would like to apologize on behalf of girls for what they did to your boys tonight. They were wrong, and they realized it too late. There was no excuse other than they thought it was for the good of Townsville. All I'm asking you is to forgive them, for they are very sorry for what they've done."

"Do you really think it would be that easy?" the doctor said, his tone very harsh. "After all that happened? They should go here and personally say sorry to me and my boys, because that is what we deserve after the way we've been treated this evening. I'll probably forgive them. As for the boys, I can't speak for them, but I'll doubt they'll forgive your girls. I'll talk to them before your girls come here so I can know how they'll react. But I'm warning you John, it's not that easy and it would probably get ugly if those six meet again. But that's my condition."

"And I accept the condition," the Professor said, "if it is the only way to mend these wounds. Listen, when will the boys be conscious?"

"In a couple of hours," Dr. Edwards said.

"Those girls will probably go here and apologize to you personally some time tomorrow," the Professor said. "And please, reconsider your decision to leave Townsville. The town really loves your boys, and you could do a great deal of service to the Town."

"Well, I'll consider it," Dr. Edwards said. "This town is, after all, my hometown. This is where I grew up, and this is where I spent some of my most memorable days, as you know. If this town can accept my boys, then I'll gladly stay. If not, then I'll leave."

"Oh I assure you that the town will accept your boys," Professor Utonium said. "And one more thing. I think that Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum and the town deserves to know the truth about what really happened. As soon as this is over, I'll call you and tell all of them what really happened when we were classmates. They should know who really made chemical X."

"You will do no such thing!" Dr. Edwards thundered. "Do you realize what it would do to your reputation if the public knew? How the girls will feel when they realized it? No you don't. I've already experienced it, as you know, when you made it look that I was the one who's trying to steal the chemical X from you. I was publicly humiliated, and my family life was wrecked. It took me ten years to rebuild my reputation. If you do that, think of what will happen to you! That is why I still hate you. But when did I care? I cared when I realized that you're not the same scheming lying bastard that I knew and was my friend when we were in college. You changed John, you really did. You care deeply for your girls, and you don't have a difficult time apologizing to people. You are now even more decent than I am now. I also care about the girls, even after this, and the implications it would have for their lives if the public knew of this. No John, you keep the secret. For if you spill the beans, I'll call you a liar and I'll deny that I created it. And I don't need another achievement on my name. I have too much already. Besides, you made most of the follow up research on Chemical Xymperchite, and I only made it, so you probably discovered more things about it than I did, since I'm just the creator."

"But William," Professor Utonium said, "it's not right!"

"And it isn't right that you'd destroy the lives of your girls for an issue that has been dead for nearly twenty years!" Dr. Edwards replied. "If you don't give a damn about your reputation or your life, then at least think of your girls and their future. Do you really want them to grow up with having the tag that their Dad is a fraud?"

Professor Utonium just shook his head.

"Then it's a secret that we will carry to our graves," Dr. Edwards said with finality. "Now, can we at least forget about the issue?"

"Okay," the Professor said, hopeful. "Does that mean that we can be friends again like we were when we're younger?"

"No. Too much has happened between us for that to happen. I still hate you, remember? We'll limit our personal contacts on matters of science and business and concerning our children so there won't be any misconceptions about us being friends."

"If that's what you want," the Professor said. "I'll be going now. I still need to talk to the people of Townsville."

"Good luck with those idiots!" Dr. Edwards said as Professor Utonium said left.

* * *

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Meanwhile…

"People of Townsville," Harold Smith shouted, "Now is the time to take action. Let us march to the house of the Utoniums and tear it down brick by brick and plank by plank. Let us show them that we will not take this sitting down! Are you with me, fellow Townies?"

"Yeah!" the crowd roared.

"Then let us march!" Harold Smith said as he put himself in front of the mob of angry citizens and began marching towards the Powerpuff home.

Halfway there, the Professor could see what was going on. He placed his car in the path of the mob.

"Stop!" Professor Utonium shouted. "You're making a big mistake!"

"Hey, it's Utonium! Let's lynch him!" one of the men in the crowd shouted.

"Wait, at least hear me out! Listen to what I have to say!" Professor Utonium shouted.

"Oh shut up," one shouted as the crowd approached with clubs and rope.

"I say let him talk!" Harold Smith suddenly said. "Then we can lynch him!"

The crowd let go of the Professor. The professor then stepped up on a chair to be above the crowd to begin his defense of the Powerpuff Girls. "I hope I do good. For the girls. For me."

* * *

**Author Thanks**

* * *

To **Uncle Sam,**thanks for reading and reviewing. Yup, it was smart of Brick to use those decoys to escape the girls. And that Smith is too sneaky for his own good.

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To **Jiffy Wiggy,**well I don't consider them to be stupid. The holograms were so realistic anybody could have been fooled. But it was funny I agree. Well, they played fair, because of the principle of "All's fair in love and war." Thanks for reading anyway.

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To **Mad Dentist**, stay away from my teeth! And thanks for reading and reviewing.

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To **rrb suck,**I agree that the people of Townsville are somewhat stupid, but you've gotta give credit to Smith for exploiting it. And I don't think the RRB are stupid. Yeah, the boys are kind of brats and the Smith are weird freaks, I agree. The girls did thrash the boys, but it made the PPG bad, not the other way around. And the girls did play fair, I agree.

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To **Sum-jackass,**I hope you review this chapter to. Yup, their reputation is gone with the wind. Well the prof. Already found out about the boy's condition in this chapter. As for the degree of punishments they would get, I agree with it, but you'll just have to see if that is so.

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To **Ud the Imp,**it's not too late, but it nearly is. Just wait for chapter 18.

* * *

To **Akum,**Yup this fic is too long, but I've read and enjoyed longer fics than this. But don't despair. It's nearly the end.

* * *

To **nightglider-star,**thanks. Well, I hope this update is quick enough for you. And can you do me a favor and update your story too?

* * *

To **Hairy Gregory,**thanks. About the decoys, as you read, the decoys are a cylindrical device measuring four inches long and have the diameter of a quarter. These devices fit easily on the pocket. Now, the decoys were one of the devices that Dr. Edwards gave his boys to help them fight crime. And since it easily fits in their pockets, it is usually one of the things they always carry in their pockets. So they have the decoys anytime they needed it.

Well, I have a feeling Mr. Smith is going to lose it, but that's another chapter.

As for what Mojo Jojo said, it's in this chapter.

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To **Firestarter 10388**, thanks. I never considered myself a good author, so it was quite a compliment. Well, I am evil so I made another cliff hanger, muhahahaha! By the way, I'm a guy, not a girl.

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To **Somewei**, you're right about Blossom when she thinks she's right. But as you can see in this chapter, when she knows she's wrong, she usually ends up doing what is right. As for the RRB and the PPG, just read the next chapters. As for Smith having Townsville hate the town, it sucks doesn't it?

And could you do me a favor and update Silent Enemy?

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To **DL23400**, it was good, and you summarized it quite neatly. Very well done to you DL23400. The only thing I have to add is that its not only the misheard conversation that caused the PPG to think the boys as evil, but also Brick and Butch's lie. Anyway, thanks.

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To **BrYtt BRatt**, well, all I have to say is, read on, there'll be more surprises! As for Brick being better than Blossom, I don't quite agree. There are some qualities that Blossom is superior, and there are some qualities of a leader that Brick is better. I think they're quite balanced out. It's just that much of Brick's positive qualities and much of Blossom's bad qualities were emphasized during the fight. Yet you could say that if Brick was really evil, then Blossom would really look like a better leader for seeing the truth. But it isn't true, and Blossom looked bad as a result.

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To **TJ Rose,**you have a habit of predicting what happens next. Can you predict the next chapter right? Well, as you've just read, the girls did see the truth and their grievous error.

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To **Dooly**, yup, typical of the citizens of Townsville. And thanks for the Harold Smith compliment. And I agree, the girls (except Bubbles) thought of the boys as just another villain. As for the boys, they aren't, except when they thrashed Mr. Morebucks factory to get baking powder. But because it's for a good cause, I don't think it's a criminal activity. And as for the girls, injured pride is a cause for not trusting the boys or Bubbles, but not the main cause. It's just a contributory factor. As for Bubbles, they really should have listened to her. As for the camera crew, well, stranger things have happened in Townsville, so it isn't out of the realm of Possibility that there was one. But they most probably are doing a nature show, like you said. And thanks. As for going for 200 reviews, it depends.

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To **The Wild Ambition,**as you wish, I just wrote more.


	18. Blossom's Apology

**Allies and Rivals**

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

**Chapter 18**

**Blossom's Apology**

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The City of Townsville…

Professor Utonium stepped on the chair to begin his plea and his defense of the girls. He knew this was his chance to save the reputations of his daughters and to reverse the fortune of the girls. The entire scene was covered by the Townsville media and broadcasted to the entire city.

The Professor, as he stood above the crowd, surveyed the entire scene before him. He knew that he could be lynched if he failed to squeeze the last ounce of sanity from the mob who was deceived by that demagogue, Smith. 'Who could have thought that that neighbor of mine can do such a thing?' he thought, looking with hatred at Harold Smith and his family.

"Friends, neighbors—" he began.

"We ain't no friend of yours!" one suddenly shouted.

"Alright, neighbors, acquaintances and citizens of Townsville. I come to you here before you to plead on behalf of my girls—"

The crowd booed and jeered when he mentioned the girls.

"Please listen to me, leave the booing later when I've made my case. I am aware of what my daughters had done to this town, and I deeply regret it, and I apologize. Yes, the Powerpuff Girls had done a terrible thing, and there's no excuse for it. But whatever they had done, I assure you, they were only thinking of Townsville's good. They were thinking only for the good of Townsville, and for your welfare, my fellow citizens."

The citizens were by now quiet, and listening intently on the Professor. Harold Smith was also quiet, confident that the people will listen but not buy the Professor's plea.

"How? How could beating the boys up while another one of them is saving the city be for the good for us?" asked one sceptical citizen.

"It's hard to explain. My girls were wrong, wrong and wrong, but when they did it, they thought they were right, right and right! They thought the boys were evil, even though they're clearly not. The girls made a mistake, not a deliberate calculation intent on destroying the town. They did what they did because of a mistaken perception, not because they are jealous of the boys. They did it for noble reasons, not for selfish reasons like Harold Smith would like you to believe."

He then dramatically pointed his finger at Harold Smith.

"You are a big fat liar who hasn't got a life so you have to ruin someone who has! Just because you ruined your own life by a pathetic attempt at becoming a supervillain doesn't give you the right to ruin the girls' life," the Professor said, making a gagging sound, mocking Smith. "Now you descended into depths that makes Mojo Jojo look like an angel! Citizens of Townsville, do you really want to follow a maniacal freak who was jailed for trying to kill their family guest and who was pardoned only because the mayor was too lazy to check the list of prisoners to be pardoned? Whose family are all criminally insane? Who has no life to speak of?"

"No!" the citizens of Townsville shouted.

'It still amazes how the people could easily be swayed,' the Professor thought, rubbing his hands. It had been easier than he thought.

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In Dr. Edwards' home…

"Ha, at least those people are as pliant as they are gullible and stupid. Good thing I wished you luck, John," Dr. Edwards' shouted at the TV screen. 'I have to hand it to you, Utonium, I didn't think you have the nerve do face them. Guess I won't have to go there and save the day for you!'

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* * *

Meanwhile…

"Do you really want to follow a man who is a certified freak, a maniac, crazy, and is pathetic in every conceivable measure?"

"NO!" the crowd shouted.

"Then who is he to judge the Powerpuff Girls? Who is he to judge when his own record is full of grime? I say, if there is any person that you should be angry at, it's not the Powerpuff Girls! It's Harold Smith for deceiving you and making you look like idiots!"

The crowd turned and looked dangerously at Harold Smith and his family.

"N-n-n-no! U-utoni-i-i-um's lying," he stuttered, sweating profusely and stuttering indicating his fear. "It's the girls, nn-n-n-ot me, b-b-b-elieve me!" he said, but the crowd clearly didn't believe him as they began to close upon the Smiths.

"Uh, I think I better go home now," Harold Smith suddenly said, but before he could get away, the crowd suddenly pounced on them and tied each of them to a tree.

"Let go of me, you're making a big mistake—" Harold Smith shouted.

"Oh shut up!" one of the people shouted, and stuffed his mouth with a dirty smelly sock, and covered his mouth with duct tape to keep him from spitting it out.

"Now that he's taken care of, let's lynch both Smith and the Professor!" one of the citizens shouted.

"Yeah!" the rest of the angry mob shouted as they approached the Professor with ropes, clubs and guns.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Professor said, terror returning to him. "I thought we had an understanding!"

"You're right about Smith," one citizen shouted, "but that doesn't change the fact that your girls caused the destruction of Townsville!"

"Didn't you listen to anything I said? And didn't you even know the news?" Professor Utonium shouted in desperation. "Those monsters—" he then pointed to the corpses of the dead creatures, "are the ones responsible for the destruction of the city, not my girls. And even if the boys are the one responsible for defeating them, and my girls had no part in defeating it, that doesn't mean the girls are guilty."

"The Powerpuff Girls are innocent, and have nothing to do with the destruction of the city. They didn't know of the monster attacking. Heck, you could lynch me with red hot spiked iron chains made from duranium on the highest skyscraper in the city and shoot me in the process if the girls had any involvement in this. I mean, they didn't make a secret deal with the monsters to beat up the boys, did they? No, they didn't, nor did they do anything else like that that would make them direct accomplices to the city's destruction. And because of that, you have no right to lynch me or denounce my girls!" the Professor passionately defended.

The crowd seemed to have regained its senses with those words, though it still continued to glare dangerously at the Professor.

The Professor decided to come clean with the crowd, as he had nothing to lose because he was already in enough hot water.

"Look at you, the great people of Townsville," the Professor said sarcastically, "and also considered very grateful. Tell me, people of Townsville, where is your gratitude to the superhero trio that time and again had saved your worthless hides?" the Professor bitterly said. "These three girls for over the past year had risked life and limb so you could live your idyllic existence. Tell me, who among you had the privilege of breathing here tonight who otherwise would have been under six feet of ground whose decayed body would have been steadily devoured by worms if it were not for the Powerpuff Girls?"

The crowd didn't respond.

"Tell me, o great and grateful citizens of Townsville, whose gratitude is so famous and so endearing," he said with dripping sarcasm, "how many of you would have been homeless, if not for the Powerpuff Girls saving your homes? Tell me, o citizens who always appreciate their heroes, how many times have you've been saved from bankruptcy? Tell me, o citizens who had always been free as a bird, who always had taken for granted its freedom to riot and to lynch, yet whose freedom would have been taken away by Mojo Jojo or Him or any other would be invaders including yes—the Rowdyruff Boys before—if it were not for the Powerpuff Girls? O tell me citizens of Townsville, how many times have the girls did what the police should have done, arrest ordinary criminals, or perform tasks which they shouldn't be doing, like fixing plumbing, rescuing a cat from a tree, and others, but for the goodness of their hearts? Did you know how many hours they did not sleep or how much energy they lost everyday making sure you don't even have to tie your own shoes? Don't you know how many nights they didn't sleep, how many times their teacher Ms. Keane came to me to complain about their sleeping habits? How many times they just dropped from exhaustion after a days' work? And this doesn't include the housework they are supposed to do!"

"And this is how you repay them, o grateful citizens of Townsville," the Professor continued. "For all their hard work, dedication to your town, even if by your actions tonight you clearly don't deserve it, what did you do? The girls made one measly mistake, one mistake, and you all pounce on them. Oh how great your memory, Townsville, that you forget at the first minute what the girls had done in over a year. Shame on you, Townsville! Shame on you, that you forget the labors and hardships that the Girls had in order that you could sit lazily on you sofas. And shame on you that in your memory lapse, you listen to a man who is half crazy half criminal half mad half maniac who has his own reasons for trying to destroy the Powerpuff Girls! I am ashamed to be living in the same city with people who would backstab the girls at the moment of their darkest hour after saving them continuously for a year. Where is your gratitude, people of Townsville?"

"How could you, people of Townsville? How could you not only abandon the girls, but turn against them after all they've done? How could you not forgive them their mistakes when they so clearly forgiven dozens of yours? The Powerpuff Girls made a mistake of judgment, haven't we all have? And don't they deserve more leeway because of their past services?"

"So, great people of Townsville, if you have any sense at all, stop this once and for all and forgive the Powerpuff Girls for the mistakes that they have done."

The people were silent, and not a few bowed their heads in shame.

"You're right," one of the people shouted, "but we demand that the girls personally apologize to us in order for us to completely forgive them!"

"Yeah!" the rest of the crowd shouted.

"The girls will do no such—" the Professor began.

"It's alright Professor," Blossom suddenly said from behind him. "It's our fault, and we needed to do this anyway."

The Professor turned around and was surprised to see the three hovering above him, all bowing their heads, ashamed of what they've done, yet at the same time remorseful.

"Girls, you have nothing to prove to me by doing this," the Professor firmly declared.

"Yes professor, we know you understand," Bubbles said. "But Townsville doesn't, and they deserve an apology from us after what happened to the town."

"So please, let us go through with this," Buttercup added. "This is something that we need to do to ease our conscience."

"Yeah Professor, it's really important for us," pleaded Blossom.

"Oh okay, but I don't like it," the Professor said. His experience in last past few minutes with the crowd was so distasteful that he decided that the girls would not go before the people of Townsville anymore. But his girls' pleading convinced him otherwise. 'Perhaps the girls would finally talk some sense into these idiots.'

The not-so-angry crowd quieted as it began to listen to the Powerpuff Girls.

"People of Townsville," began Blossom, taking the microphone from the Professor's hand, "I would like to begin by saying that all of what went wrong in the past few weeks was all my fault, and my sisters just followed me in my error."

Buttercup grabbed the microphone from Blossom. "Don't give us that. Don't blame only yourself. We're in this together and we'll stick with it together. So don't play a self-serving martyr, because you can only play the self-serving part convincingly." She then smiled at Blossom, indicating that the last part was only a joke.

Blossom decided this is not something worth fighting over. "Okay, I was wrong. This was all our fault, not just mine."

The professor slapped his hand in his forehead. 'This is a bad start.' He couldn't imagine how this could be more bungled.

Dr. Edwards too was flabbergasted. He, liked everybody else was surprised at the girls' sudden arrival at the scene. 'This isn't any way to start a defense!' But whatever doubts he or anybody else may have had vanished as Blossom began her speech.

"Citizens of Townsville, our actions in the past weeks had been disgraceful, and you have been most adversely affected by it. We came here knowing that we don't have the face to face you tonight." She then paused for a few seconds. "How can we, the Powerpuff Girls, heroes that you long regarded as protectors of Townsville, have the nerve to face you tonight? We betrayed you tonight by not facing up to our responsibility of taking care of Townsville from monsters and beating up those who did! We failed you Townsville, and we paid the price for it by the loss of your trust and confidence in us. And we deserved it too," she began, with hands shaking, and with eyes clearly holding back tears. Her voice is filled with emotion, and it was obviously sincere.

"Yet for all that, we decided that the right thing to do is to face all of you. Jeer, boo or even insult us, because we deserve it, but please listen to us," she shouted. It made the crowd quiet, and led to not a few tears in sympathy for the girls.

"We loved Townsville, and still do. People of Townsville, please understand that we didn't do the shameful thing we just did because we hated our fair city, it is just that we were too blind to see that we were misguided and too prejudiced to believe that the Rowdyruff Boys were sincere, and too proud to let them get away with beating us up twice before, even if we started both fights."

"We only did what we thought was good for Townsville, and in the end, committed a grievous mistake in pursuit of that. But that doesn't excuse our actions tonight. We were acted irresponsibly, rashly, immaturely, carelessly and foolishly, and the sad thing was, we knew better even if we denied it at that time. We blindly went through our course, ignoring pleas from wiser heads to change our course of action. We just hoped that everything will turn out right—and everything went wrong."

At this point, tears slowly began dripping on Blossom's face, as her voice became more emotional.

"We're superheroes, and tonight, we acted more like villains. There is no excuse. We regret from the bottom of our hearts what we've done, and we're very sorry. People of Townsville, we humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please, forgive us. We're very sorry for what we've done."

She then wept, and her voice, though clear, was garbled by sobs. She paused several times, staring at the crowd as she said the last part of the apology.

"People of Townsville, though we seek your forgiveness, we would like to say that we would understand if you refuse to do so. If so, then we have nothing to blame but ourselves because we brought it upon ourselves. Just give us the privilege of serving you and the town alongside the new superheroes—the Rowdyruff Boys—so that we could still do what we always wanted to do—to protect Townsville. I repeat, please forgive us, but if you don't, then please let us serve the town as superheroes alongside the Rowdyruff Boys."

The crowd was silent, with heads bowed, ashamed of how they just acted. Soon, some of them were at tears. The Professor's castigation and the girls' apology apparently penetrated even their thick skulls, and they saw through what they had done.

"Of course we forgive you! You're our heroes!" one citizen suddenly shouted.

"Yeah, we forgive you! And we still love and trust you!" another citizen said.

"And we're sorry for listening to that bastard Smith," shouted another one.

"Yeah, what you did is terrible, but you're sorry for it, and we forgive you," another citizen shouted. "And we're sorry for trying to lynch the professor."

"Yeah, now we have six superheroes, the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys!'

Soon, the crowd was sending a flurry of acceptance and forgiveness, some sermons on the terrible things that they have done, and congratulating them for apologizing.

Because of the Professor's speech and Blossom's apology, the fickle citizens of Townsville forgave the girls in the same night that they condemned them by listening to Harold Smith. With an act of humility, they regained their reputations that had been lost that same night.

"Professor," Buttercup, "we're sorry for what we've done. We really are."

"Yeah professor," Bubbles added, "we really can't tell you how sorry we are, but we are."

"Professor," Blossom said, looking at the ground, not even looking at the Professor, "could you ever find it in your heart to forgive us?"

The professor took pity on his girls. He gently placed his hand under Blossom's chin and slowly lifted it up so that they were eye to eye. He then motioned Buttercup and Bubbles to come closer to him.

"Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, of course I forgive you. Don't be silly. I'll always forgive you, and welcome you to my arms no matter what you've done, even if it isn't something to be proud of. You're my daughters, my precious little angels, and no matter what you do, I'll always accept you."

"And even if I'm not proud at what you did earlier this night, I'm very proud of you girls, for having the courage to come here and talk to the people. And I'm proud that you've realized your mistakes, and apologized to the citizens," the Professor gently said. "And I'm proud of your performance tonight Blossom. Frankly, I never thought that the crowd could come to its senses, but then you came along and proved me wrong. There's hope for this town yet."

"O thank you Professor, you don't know how much those words mean to us," the girls said as they tightly hugged their father.

"Now girls," the Professor said as he led them into his car, "I want to know everything that happened, and I mean everything."

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Meanwhile…

Dr. Edwards was watching the TV news, and was touched by Blossom's speech.

'What an apology! At least those idiots believed you, Blossom. And you showed that you're sincerely sorry. Now, the only thing you have to do to fix this all up is to go here and apologize to me and my sons. I'll forgive you, but I don't know about my boys. I can only hope…' he then turned and looked at his sleeping sons.

'Sleep and rest, my sons. We're staying in Townsville and you have a life ahead of you. Your future is bright. I could only hope that I could raise you right so that you could even make it brighter.'

He then watched the TV for more news.

"This is Stanley Whitfield. In an unprecedented move, the Powerpuff Girls asked for forgiveness from the people of Townsville for their actions earlier tonight. And in an even more surprising development, the people of Townsville, who moments ago was ready to lynch the girls' father, Professor Utonium, accepted the apology and cheered the girls."

Dr. Edwards then turned off the TV.

'Things has gotten much better,' he thought.

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In Professor Utonium's car…

"So that's what happened, Professor," Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles explained, omitting the part where they made an alliance with the monsters, but otherwise telling everything, from the boys' confession during the second fight, their small jealousy of the boys' success, Bubbles doubts and efforts to persuade her sisters of the boys' innocence, Blossom's stubbornness and headlong charge into disaster, their 'victory' in the last fight, and the realization of truth that the boys were not truly evil.

The professor just listened, occasionally asking questions, and generally approving.

"Of course, even if I forgave you, and you did a very good job apologizing, you still need to be punished to learn and serve as an example," the Professor said. "Blossom, you're grounded for two months because you're the leader and you've got more responsibility than anyone else. Buttercup, you're grounded for a whole month. Bubbles, because you followed you're conscience, you're only grounded for three days. You can only go out to go to school."

"But Professor," the three girls whined.

"No buts, my decision is final. The Rowdyruff Boys will save the day while you three are grounded. Now let's go home. You need to rest because tomorrow, you'll apologize to Dr. Edwards and the Rowdyruff Boys."

They arrived home, and Ms. Bellum, Ms. Keane and the Mayor congratulated the girls for their apology, but also approved of the punishment the Professor gave them, though Ms. Keane thought it was unduly harsh.

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* * *

Soon, they were at bed, ready to sleep.

"Do you think the doctor and the boys will forgive us?" asked Bubbles.

"I don't know, Bubbles, I don't know," Buttercup replied.

"We can only hope, Bubbles, Buttercup, we can only hope," Blossom replied. "Besides, we have to persuade them not to spill the beans on the monsters."

"Yeah, at least things are beginning to go back to normal, with the boys and all that, I mean," Buttercup said in relief.

"Not quite, Buttercup," Blossom said.

"What do you mean?" asked Buttercup.

"Yes, we were again Townsville's superheroes, and the people forgave us and still love us, but we forever lost the moral superiority we have over them. In the eyes of the town, where before, we are superior to the boys, now we're just equal. We basically stooped to their level, and we have no right to lecture them on morals," Blossom then paused for a while, then smirked. "Though it won't stop us from trying."

August 29 would be a memorable date for the girls. On that date, they made a deal with the monsters to defeat the boys, they discovered that Dr. Edwards was the father of the Rowdyruff Boys, humiliated him in front of the Professor, Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum and the Mayor by making him look like a fool, unwittingly caused the destruction of a large chunk of the city, defeated the boys in battle, destroyed their reputations in the process, learned the truth that the boys were not evil in a tortured way, apologized to Townsville, regained their reputations back, and was grounded as punishment. Boy, what a day!

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Meanwhile…

The place where the Professor spoke and Blossom apologized was deserted, except for four people tied to the trees.

"Mmmpphhhh!" Harold Smith shouted in his gag, vainly trying to get someone to release him.

"You and your stupid plans, Harold," Mary Ann Smith shouted. "I should have listened to mother when she told me not to marry you, but no, I had to marry you. Now look at what you've gotten us into…" and she ranted on and on to poor Harold Smith's ear, who has no way of replying because of the gag.

"Help, someone untie me, better yet, adopt me! Anything to get me away from this stupid family!" Julie Smith yelled, still stuck in the tree.

"I hate this city," Bud Smith simply said.

And so the Smith family was stuck, tightly tied to the trees for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Author Thanks**

* * *

To **Ud the Imp,**I agree. They did take it pretty hard, but as you pointed out, who wouldn't? Well, Blossom and Buttercup are really good girls. And it shows on how they felt after realizing they were wrong. On Bubbles, I agree completely.

As for Dr. Edwards reaction to Utonium's proposal, bear in mind that Dr. Edwards was friends with the girls before all of this happened, so he doesn't anything else to happen to the girls.

As for the lynch mob, this chapter pretty much answers it.

* * *

To **Uncle Sam,**I hope this chapter is as good as the other ones. As for Smith, I hope their punishment satisfies you. Well, Dr. Edwards is staying in Townsville, though you'll have to see if the boys are going to study in Pokey Oakes. After all, its August 29 in this fic, and September is very near.

* * *

To **Hairy Gregory,**yup it did. As for Dr. Edwards and Professor Utonium, it's good that they are on speaking terms to each other, but they are still basically hostile to each other. And I agree that there's no point in pointing out the truth at this stage. It would do nothing but harm.

And thanks for liking Dr. Edwards' last line and Mojo's last rant.

* * *

To **sum-jackass**, yup, it did hit her hard, especially her conscience. Well, as for the boys forgiving the girls, you'll have to read the next chapter.

* * *

To **Laserwriter 8,** thanks for the compliments. Yup, the PPG knows that the RRB are not evil.

* * *

To **Somewei,**Blossom did something to fix it this chapter. As for Dr. Edwards and Prof. Utonium, they are already talking to each other civilly, as for the boys and girls, we'll just have to see.

* * *

To **TJ Rose,**yup, Blossom's really strong. She stubbornly held on to her belief that the boys were evil until nearly the very end. Well, as for the Professor convincing Townsville, this chapter answers it. And thanks for liking that line.

* * *

To **nightglider-star,**well sorry for the cliff hangers, it's a bad habit of mine. But please, bear with me.

* * *

To **scorpionfreak23,**I'm sorry you didn't read it all. But thanks for considering my story anyway. And I do have a social life with my family and friends. I just type really fast and had my thoughts organized before typing it so I can type three pages in three to four hours a day. And I typically devote about two hours each day (sometimes, I don't type at all on some days) to updating this fic.

* * *

To **Intel Inside,**thanks for reading and reviewing. And the Professor, nor anyone else, won't die anytime soon.

* * *

To **BrYtt BRatt,**and it has become more unraveled at this point. As for feeling sorry for everyone except Smith, my sentiments exactly. As for the boys forgiving the girls, wait for chapter 19.

* * *

To **Bethany,**well, he realized that the girls had done something wrong and as a father, he felt obligated to discipline them. Well, the actions of the girls made the town susceptible to that geek Smith's words. Yup, I agree that the Smiths should pay for what they've done, but they already did in this chapter. Well, they redeemed themselves before the town in this chapter.

* * *

To **Dooly,**yeah, me too. I agree about the girls being hard on themselves part. As for the boys forgiving the girls, wait until the next chapter to find out. As for the admiration of each others abilities, you'll know from previous chapters that Brick and Blossom had respect for each other's tactical and strategic abilities plus leadership skills. As for the others, just wait and see. Yup, Harold made a fatal mistake. Thanks. I always try to think if their personality fits the actions, or vise versa. And when they did act differently, I tried to think of a reason why. Thanks again.

* * *

To **Mr. Cola, **thanks.

* * *

To **Ego Waffle,**(accepts the $100.00), because of the money, I just updated! LOL!


	19. Making Amends

**Allies and Rivals**

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

**Chapter 19**

**Making Amends**

* * *

The City of Townsville, and it was in the morning of August 30.

William Knox Edwards was fast asleep on a desk besides the beds where his three sons were asleep. He awoke, still drowsy, wore his thick glasses and corrected himself at his chair. He looked and noticed drool on the table. He smiled, and wiped it with a piece of cloth.

He walked and stood beside the bed where his three sons were sleeping. He earlier had removed all the bandages in Boomer's body—all the bruises and acid burns healed quicker than he thought possible. Brick and Butch were now completely healed. 'I guess that the Chemical X or whatever ingredients had made the healing process so quick. If it were an ordinary person, it would take weeks, months, to heal, or it would even be permanent. My sons healed in only a few hours.'

Soon, the first ray of sunlight penetrated the window and glazed the boys' eyes. Brick's eyes slowly popped open. He first rubbed his eyes, then slowly rose. He was at first confused, then remembered what had happened. Soon, it all came back to him, all to the point where he collapsed while giving a speech to the people of Townsville.

"What happened?" asked Brick. "Last time I remember, I was giving the idiots a piece of my mind, then suddenly, I can't remember anything."

"You passed out," replied Dr. Edwards. "Boomer and Butch carried you over here, and they too collapsed when they arrived.

Brick looked beside him and saw his brothers.

"They're going to be alright," Dr. Edwards said. "In a few hours, or even maybe minutes, they'll be awake. Anyway, you and your brothers are now at full strength, which meant that—"

"We and those girls are now at equal strength again," Brick finished. "We must train, so we'll again be stronger than the girls. And we must never separate. I don't want to be caught by those girls with my pants down again."

"What happened son? I thought I told you to apologize?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"I did Dad, but only Bubbles believed me. In the end, it didn't matter 'cause Blossom didn't believe a word I said, and she's the one who gives the orders to her sisters. Oh, when I get my hands on her, I'll—"

"Calm down son. Blossom already believes you," Dr. Edwards said.

"She does?" Brick sceptically said. "Ha, don't joke Dad. You don't know how many times I've said that I was only sarcastic and how many times she's said, 'Bubbles saw you and you're just lying,' and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of me and my brothers. Did you even know what happened up there?"

"In a way, yes. I've seen what happened entirely on TV. You probably didn't know that the entire event was caught on tape," he said to a surprised Brick. "Though you six were too far away for your conversations to be picked up."

Brick smirked. 'So neither Dad nor anyone else know about the monster alliance incident.' "So you want to know what happened from our point of view?"

"Not now. I want to wait for your brothers to come to, oh hi Butch. Glad you're awake. Good morning Boomer. I'm glad to say that your scars and burns have completely healed," he said to the newly awakened and still drowsy Butch and Boomer. "I also saw your fight against the monsters, and I must say, I'm very proud of you three for how you conducted yourselves last night. You just transformed yourselves in the eyes of the city, climbed higher in prestige and you upped your reputations tremendously. I'm very proud of you."

Brick's mood suddenly got up. He was able to please his father and make him proud again. Boomer was glad that he was fully clothed again, while Butch was happy at his father's compliment.

"Thanks Dad," they all said simultaneously.

"Now that you're all up, I want you to tell me what happened," Dr. Edwards told his boys.

The boys then told him what happened. Boomer and Butch basically told him about the monster fights, especially the part where they broke into Mr. Morebucks' factory. Their father didn't say anything about it, but his eyes gave the impression that he was even prouder of his boys for it. Anyway, Brick told what happened on his part, and up to the point where he collapsed. Boomer then continued the narrative. They told all, but avoided the topic of the monsters alliance with the girls. Boomer merely told the doctor that he stared down the fourth monster and it got scared and ran away.

His son's narrative gave the doctor grave doubts whether he should forgive the girls, specifically Blossom. 'Thanks Bubbles for believing them and not hurting my boys,' he thought. 'Blossom, how the hell could you be so stubborn, stupid, and narrow-minded? Reminds me both of Brick and me when I was much younger. And remind me of myself today.' He was still very proud, and that pride would not permit him to renew his friendship with Utonium. Still, he had much common sense, and he knew when to swallow his pride. The doctor then remembered his past experiences with the girls. 'How could I not forgive you three? You're too cute. Still, it depends. You should apologize properly to me for humiliating me in front of the John, Sarah and Sandra last night. And for what you did to my sons.'

"That's terrible," Dr. Edwards said, "what the girls did to you. They should have believed you, Brick. Still, John Utonium told me that they would apologize to me and you this day."

"They would?" asked Boomer sceptically. "Why would they?"

"Yeah, maybe they wanted again to attack us, right after giving another of their 'you're lying because you're evil and we'll make you confess' speech again!" Butch added.

"Yeah, no matter how much we insisted, they insisted on telling us that we were in cahoots with that monkey! Tell me Dad, why should we believe that they believe that we weren't in alliance with Mojo and they aren't hell bent in destroying our reputations? Maybe they're just fooling you to catch you off guard so that they could again beat us up," Brick questioned.

The doctor looked and regarded his sons with more pride. "I'm glad you didn't immediately believe what I've said. At least I know that you're not easily fooled and you have much common sense. But much has happened since you three collapsed from exhaustion last night." Dr. William Edwards then told the boys everything that happened, from Mojo Jojo's explanation to the girls, Professor Utonium's visit, the Professor's near lynching, his speech to the crowd, and finally, Blossom's apology to the people. And for further proof, he made them watch the tape where the girls apologized. He also said that Professor would soon give him a copy of the tape of Mojo Jojo's surveillance camera that captured the sarcastic conversation heard by Bubbles.

The boys were stunned.

"Well I'll be damned!" Boomer remarked.

"Maybe they're just fooling the crowd?" suggested Butch.

"I don't think so," Brick said, still shocked. "If she wasn't sincere, she wouldn't go and grovel before those bunch of imbeciles. She's too proud to do such a thing just for show."

"But that doesn't change a thing!" Butch retorted. "They did what they did to us, and no amount of grovelling would change that."

"Brick and Dad's right Butch," Boomer answered. "They mean it this time, and they believe us. But you've got a point Butch. That doesn't mean every thing will be bygones. We must have revenge!"

"Yes, Boomer, yes. Too much has happened for that. I mean, they had their chance, and they did not take it," Brick glibly replied. "Besides, we aren't exactly friends before this thing happened, so nothing really changed. And no, we won't beat them up or anything like that. Doing so would only make things worse."

"Boys," Dr. Edwards booming voice suddenly said. "The girls will come here and will apologize to me and to you. The Professor assured me of that. Now, it's up to you whether or not to forgive them. But if you ask me, it's better if you do. Remember what I said about saying sorry?"

"Yes Dad I remember," Brick said. "You said, 'it is up to you to forgive them, or to hate them more. After that, they could forget about the whole thing and blame you for anything that went wrong if you didn't accept the apology.' "

"Good, you remembered," their father told them. "But make sure those apologies were indeed sincere before accepting them. And if they are, it is better for you to accept them, because it is not good to hold a grudge. Believe me, I know. It's up to you whether or not to forgive them, but if you would ask me, just accept them. Sure, they did a terrible thing, but they already paid dearly for it in terms of their reputations tanking."

Dr. Edwards saw that what he was saying was not sinking in, so he decided to use a different approach to the problem. He was determined that he convince his boys to forgive the girls because in his view, their entire future depends on the boys doing just that.

"But if you still are resentful and disliked the girls, then at least forgive them because it is in your best interests to do so."

"How's that Dad?" Boomer asked.

"Because," his father began, "what would the town think? Yes, you have just cause to be angry, and I won't force you to accept their apology, but think of your future! You are now at the beginning of your lives in Townsville, and all eyes are upon you."

"Now, if you don't care about the people of Townsville," Dr. Edwards continued, "then think about this. You want to be better than the Powerpuff Girls, right?"

"Yeah Dad," Brick said.

"Then if you want to be better than them, then you'll forgive them, for those who are better hold no grudges against those whom you consider inferior. You may fell contempt, extreme dislike, or derision for the girls, but remember, if they are completely remorseful, then not accepting their apology is a sign that you're not better, and you realize that you're lower than them. Complaining, holding grudges, or hating somebody even after they apologized are actions of those who subconsciously think they are still inferior! So, my sons, IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE BETTER THAN THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, THEN YOU WILL FORGIVE THE GIRLS!" the doctor thundered, once again nearly frightening his sons.

"Of course, it's your choice. I cannot dictate whether or not you will forgive them. But remember this, I am very proud of you, and nothing could diminish that. But I would be even more proud if you forgave the girls. But, it's your decision, not mine."

"Yes Dad," the three merely said.

"Good. Remember, don't mention this conversation to the girls or to anyone else. Now I'll be going down to prepare breakfast," Dr. Edwards said.

Dr. Edwards felt guilty for using that argument to persuade his sons to forgive the girls. 'That is just wrong. But the end justifies the means. If the girls make their apology right, my sons will forgive them, even if it was for the wrong reasons. Now, there could be some peace between the two, even if it is only hollow and artificial. I am walking on thin ice here, but it's better than directly taking the plunge. I can only hope that in the future, the boys will find it in their heart to forgive them for the right reasons.'

* * *

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* * *

"This sucks," Butch said when Dr. Edwards was out of earshot.

"But Dad's right," Boomer added. "However much we disliked those girls, we must accept their apology, because we are better than them."

"If they even bother to apologize," Brick said. "But I don't see any reason not to forgive them if they grovelled sufficiently before us. After all, they lost and we won."

"What do you mean? We ran away for crying out loud!" Butch said, nearly shouting. "Just because you lead us to defeat doesn't give you the right to call it something it's not. We lost. Why not admit it?!"

Brick was not even phased by Butch's outburst. He turned to Butch and calmly stated his case. "Yes, we lost the fight, that I admit. But they failed in their goals and we succeeded in ours. They failed in their goal of forcing us to admit that we were in alliance with Mojo Jojo, and they even failed to beat us unconscious. They failed to destroy our reputations, and instead destroyed theirs. They defeated us in battle, yes, but we escaped with everything unscathed except our bodies."

"And," Boomer continued, "our job is to defeat the four monsters and for Brick to apologize to Blossom for that lie he told her. And we did both of it too, and it doesn't matter that Blossom and Buttercup didn't believe it. The only thing that wasn't damaged was their bodies."

"Yeah," Brick added. "We succeeded, while they failed. We don't even need to have revenge, because the girls themselves avenged us!"

"What?" Butch sceptically asked.

"They shot themselves in the foot," Brick said. "In their zeal to destroy us, they destroyed themselves. Heck, even their reason for doing it was proved false, and their conscience hit them hard. Did you see how they apologized in that tape? Hell, I'd say it's someone who got in trouble! She is saying that 'cause that Blossom realized they're wrong. We don't need to have revenge. We already had it. So there's nothing to have a grudge about. Dad's right. To not accept their apology, if they apologized, would be to admit they are better than us."

"I guess you're right. Oh why do you always have to be right, Brick?" Butch complained. "Okay, I'll do it, but I still don't like it."

"That's why I'm the leader," Brick confidently proclaimed. "We don't have to like them, or you can even hate them, to forgive them."

Brick then smirked mischievously at both his brothers.

"If I know you Brick, you've got something up your sleeve!" Boomer suddenly said, recognizing that familiar smirk.

"You noticed, eh?" Brick said. "Yes I have. Do you really think I'd let the girls get away with this? I haven't got a definite plan yet, but just watch and see. They'll learn that forgetting and forgiving are two different things. And those girls would be more useful to us if we forgave them, or at least give them the impression that we're forgiving them."

"But won't Dad get mad?" asked Boomer.

"No he won't. In fact, he'll be pleased and proud of it," Brick said. "We have an entire future ahead of us, and I've got more sense than to throw it away at some petty attempt at revenge. No, Butch, Boomer. I've got something better than that. Just trust me."

* * *

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* * *

That afternoon…

Professor Utonium was driving his car towards the house of Dr. Edwards. Behind him were his three daughters, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.

"Gee, I wonder what Dr. Edwards house looks like?" asked Buttercup.

"Maybe it's a big mansion, with lots of rooms and elegant halls, with lots of decorations. Maybe they have lots of toys too!" Bubbles dreamily said.

'You're so wrong, Bubbles,' the Professor thought. 'You'll be surprised when you actually see the house.'

"Yup. It's probably larger than Mr. Morebuck's mansion," Blossom added, "because Dr. Edwards is richer than him."

The Professor then hit the brakes at the last house of the suburbs.

"Why are we stopping Professor?" asked Blossom.

"We've arrived," the Professor said.

"Where's the house?" Bubbles asked as she looked around. All she saw was a normal looking suburban house besides a forest and no mansion.

"There," pointed the Professor towards the house.

"Oh don't joke, Professor!" Buttercup said. "Dr. Edwards is a rich man. He wouldn't live in such a small house."

"Oh I'm not joking," the Professor said. "For such a rich man, he has simple tastes." He then pressed the doorbell to his house, and seconds later, William K. Edwards opened the door.

Dr. Edwards looked unkempt, evidenced by his dishevelled hair that was clumsily combed. His white shirt sleeves were rolled into his elbows, and his tie was loosely tied around his neck, or more like hanging from it, and was outside his unbuttoned vest.

"Hi John, girls," he simply said. "What do you want?" He shifted his tone to cold and harsh.

The Utoniums were taken aback by this change of tone. "William, we already talked about this last night. My girls wanted to say something to you."

"Oh I remember. Come on in," he finally said, letting them enter the house and into the living room.

'This room is…plain,' observed Bubbles. 'The only decorations are a coat of light blue paint and a row of pictures and framed certificates, and there are only two couches, a plain gray carpet, a TV, a desk, a cabinet full of books, and a desktop computer.' Still, it was neat.

The Utoniums sat on one couch, and Dr. Edwards on the other.

Blossom was the first to speak.

"Doctor," she began, looking at the stern-looking doctor, "we would like to apologize for the way we treated you last night. I shouldn't have dismissed what you've said and accused you of being a stool pigeon of your boys. I should have given you more credit for managing to change the boys for the better. I shouldn't have judged you to be as gullible as I made you out to be. I really am sorry, Doctor. We didn't listen to you, and as a result, we committed a grave mistake. Please forgive us ,doctor, for that."

"Blossom, Buttercup, Bubbles, I wouldn't wholly blame you for not believing me," Dr. Edwards said. "My boys shouldn't have lied to you about them having an alliance with Mojo. Anyway, I forgive you for what you did to me in the Mayor's office. I assure you that I gave my boys a piece of my mind when I arrived home and ordered them to apologize to you, which they did. However, you compounded your problem when you refused to believe Brick's apology for lying and his explanation. Then, you made it worse by beating up Brick while his Boomer and Butch were saving the city, and then beating them up when they went to where you were. But anyway, it's all in the past. My sons were all physically back to normal, and you already paid for your misdeeds. You've shown me how sincere and sorry you are, and I was impressed by your apology to the town last night, so I won't dwell on it. So yes, I forgive you for beating up my sons, but you'll have to go and personally apologize to them for it to be complete."

"Thanks, Dr. Edwards," the girls merely said.

"Yeah, could we go and apologize to the boys?" asked Bubbles.

"Of course," Dr. Edwards said. "Wait here until I'll call my boys."

* * *

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* * *

Upstairs…

The boys were in the living room upstairs playing with their toy cars.

"Broom, broom, my car is way faster than yours Brick!" Boomer boasted as he flashed his red car at his face and rolling it on the floor.

"Ha, my SUV will beat your piece of scrap metal anytime," Brick boasted as he put on the batteries and raced Boomer by remote control. However, both vehicles went out of control and crashed against the wall.

Soon, a toy tank rolled in and began shooting the two vehicles with pellets. "Tanks rule!" Butch proclaimed. Before his two brothers could react, their father entered the room. "Dad, I just thrashed Brick and Boomer's cars! I rule!"

"Put away your toys, boys. The Powerpuff Girls are here to apologize to you."

The boys were extremely surprised when they heard that, although they were expecting them. Then, they acted in a very immature manner that flabbergasted their father.

"Those sissies are here?" asked Brick. "Aw could you tell them to apologize later? I'm about to show Butch here that my SUV's better than his tank, and—"

"Boys," he said, slightly raising voice. "Drop whatever you're doing and go down and listen to the girls, now!"

"But Dad, we haven't finished playing!" Boomer complained.

"No buts," his Dad said, and that ended all arguments. The boys put their toys away and went with their father down grumbling, partly because their playing time was interrupted.

The girls were busy looking at Dr. Edwards' living room when they saw the Professor with the boys go down the stairs. The girls then stood up. A few seconds later, the Edwardses and the Utoniums are standing a few feet apart staring at each other.

Professor Utonium was the first one to speak.

"William, I would like to talk to you about something. Could we, say, talk about it more privately?"

"By all means, John," Dr. Edwards replied, and soon, both of them went for another room to talk, leaving the six alone.

"What is it, John?" asked Dr. Edwards as soon as they are in another room.

"Well, I grounded Blossom for two months, Buttercup for one, and Bubbles for three days, and I was wondering if your boys could take up some of the superheroing slack?"

"My boys would love too, but I also grounded them for a long time for lying to your girls. Brick got six weeks, Butch and Boomer got a month," William replied.

"Oh we'll just have to work this out," the Professor said.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

The boys and the girls stared at each other from opposite sides of the living room. Brick had his arms crossed, was wearing the smirk that still irritated Blossom no end. Both his brothers were on either side of him, both with angry expressions on their faces. As for the girls, Blossom had a contrite face, trying her best to give an expression of sincerity, Bubbles was smiling and grinning and waving her hand, the only one who was happy. Buttercup was simply frowning, and like Brick, had her hands crossed.

Blossom began to talk.

"Boys, I would like to say that even though you might have a difficult time believing us, we now believe you're not evil. We should have believed you, like Bubbles earlier did. Now Buttercup and I realized how wrong we were, and how Bubbles was right. You lied to us, but you tried to make it up to us by apologizing, and despite Bubbles, we didn't believe you. On top of that, we beat you up while your brothers saved the day, something that we should have been doing. I, speaking for the Powerpuff Girls, accept your apology last night. Finally, I on behalf of Buttercup and myself, I apologize for not earlier accepting it, and for what we've done afterwards. Please forgive us. And we would like to thank you for saving the city."

Brick then gave his reply, one which he and his brothers already agreed on.

"Ah, so the proud and stubborn Blossom finally admits she is fallible!" Brick said in a mocking tone. "After all what happened, after you repeatedly thrashed us, after conspiring with monsters to beat my brothers up, after double teaming me up, after I've lowered my precious pride to prove once again how infallible you are, after repeatedly telling you that we don't have a freakin' alliance with that bastard, Mojo, you finally saw the light, and apologized!"

"I, and my brothers, shouldn't forgive you," Brick continued, with increasing bitterness. "Why should we? Only Bubbles deserved to be forgiven, and she had little to apologize for in the first place. But we will, because we have no reason not to. Because it would be worse on our part than yours if we didn't, as Dad clearly said. We will, for your sister's sake, of whom I owe a debt of gratitude, accept your apology. Ha, even our pride demands that we forgive you, even if our hearts is screaming not to. Just ask my brothers, but I advise you, especially you, leader girl, not to, if you don't want to hurt your ego."

"Bubbles, I would like to thank you very much for what you've done to us," Brick continued. "And I am speaking for my brothers when I say that we've completely forgiven you for any part you might have, and for your sake, and for Dad's and for ours, but not for theirs, we also will forgive your sisters. But understand this, we won't be friends anytime soon. Nothing has changed since before this incident. Blossom, Buttercup, we accept you apology, and you can keep your thanks."

"What do you mean, we can keep our thanks?" asked Blossom, but in a flash, the boys disappeared from the living room and raced to their room to continue their car race.

"A quarter says my car is faster than your SUV!" they heard Boomer shout.

"Let's see you put your money where your mouth is!" challenged Brick.

"Ha, your cars are no match for my tank!" boasted Butch.

* * *

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* * *

The girls were absolutely stunned. A second earlier, they were telling them how terrible they were and at the same time they were forgiving them, then they were betting on race cars a second later. They were absolutely confused.

"I don't get it," Buttercup said.

"Me too!" Bubbles said.

"I guess we have to ask them," Blossom said as she began floating upwards towards the room she saw the boys enter.

"Blossom, don't you think it'll only make things worse by just barging in?"

"Yeah, but they can't just leave it hanging at that. It's good that they forgave us, but they left many more questions unanswered. Why did they really forgive us, because it's clearly not because they liked us more? And what did they mean by accepting our apology and not our thanks? I've got to risk it," she said as she opened the door and saw Boomer and Brick having a car race with Butch watching and officiating.

"What are you doing here?" asked Butch.

"Yeah, who told you, you can come here?" Boomer demanded.

Blossom approached Brick who tried ignoring her by fiddling with his remote car. "What do you want?" he finally asked.

"Well, you shouldn't have left us hanging like that. What do you mean you forgive us but we can keep our thanks?"

"It meant exactly what it says," Brick said. "You're smart, you can figure it out."

"But why not?" asked Blossom. "You deserved it. You saved the city and you're superheroes."

"Because, little Miss Utonium," Brick replied, putting his toys away and facing his counterpart, "we're not superheroes. We did it because of our own selfish reasons, and not because we're some goody two shoes who has to save every kitten in a tree for its own sake."

Blossom decided to ignore the insult and decided to press him more. "Why don't you consider yourself superheroes? You are superheroes because of what you've just did, no matter how you think of yourself."

"Look, do you really think we changed that much since Dr. Edwards recreated us? No, you didn't. We changed, that I realized, and for the better, and we really even didn't notice it. But we haven't changed that much. We're not good little boys. No—we're loyal to our father, but to one else. We love him very much, but we share our affections to one else. We'll do anything he tells us, but we'll take orders from no one else unless he orders it. The only reason we are saving the city is because of our father, not because we love it, and its citizens. The only reason we haven't pounced on you now and haven't killed you is because we promised Dad not to kill anyone in any of our fights and it wouldn't make Dad proud. It is not because we became like you. And in fact, we don't like the citizens—they're too much imbeciles. Now, can you still consider us superheroes?"

"Yes," Blossom unequivocally, unhesitatingly replied. "Even if what you say is true, it doesn't change the fact that saving the city at all makes you one. The only reason you won't admit it is because you're too proud to admit that you've changed a lot, not just a little."

"You don't know that," Brick responded.

"Oh no? Then do you think that the Rowdyruff Boys that Mojo Jojo created will save the city, apologize to us and actually listen to us after what we've done?"

Brick didn't answer.

"Face it Brick, you're changing for the better, even if you don't want to admit how much. You remain bitter at us, but the fact that you even forgave us tells volumes. You're a brilliant leader and fighter, Brick, and very smart, but on this issue, you're deceiving yourself."

"You have no right to lecture me after what you did last night," Brick shouted. "Don't be so moralistic, for it doesn't work for me."

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Boomer and Bubbles had a more pleasant conversation, though no less harsh in words.

"Can I be your friend?" asked Bubbles, catching Boomer off guard.

"What?" Boomer again asked, seemingly not believing his ears.

"Can you be my friend, silly?" repeated Bubbles in a playful manner.

Boomer again was caught off guard. He stammered a bit and blushed, but soon recovered.

"No, we can't," he replied, though with less conviction than a Brick might have said.

"Why not?" Bubbles asked.

"Because I don't want to be your friend," Boomer said.

Bubbles wasn't deterred. "Okay, since we can't be friends, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Can at least be allies in fighting crime?" asked Bubbles.

"Ask Brick about that," Boomer curtly replied. "He gets to decide. Though I doubt he would."

"Okay," said Bubbles, then decided to ask Boomer another question. "What do you and your brothers think about me and my sisters?"

"You're the most tolerable. I hate Blossom, and I dislike Buttercup," Boomer answered. "Butch also hates Blossom, he dislikes you Bubbles, and on Buttercup, I'm not sure if he hates or dislikes her. As for Brick, he's the only one that doesn't hate Blossom. He doesn't dislike you Bubbles, though I'm not sure if he likes you or not. As for Buttercup, I don't know what he thinks of her."

For some reason, Bubbles wasn't shocked by Boomer's answer. "But why do you and Butch hate Blossom?"

"The monster alliance," was Boomer's simple and clear answer.

"Blossom's really nice, you know," Bubbles said, defending her sister. "You really should get to know her better. And about the Monster alliance, she's very sorry about that."

"Are you going to spill the beans on the monster alliance?" she asked.

"Ask Brick," was Boomer's simple answer.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Butch and Buttercup were just staring at each other, fighting the urge to go and beat each other up.

"What are you looking at," Butch said.

"Something very ugly," was Buttercup's reply.

"I don't see any mirror nearby," Butch teased.

"Why, wanna die of a heart attack?" asked Buttercup.

"Do you wanna die of broken ribs?" answered Butch.

"To a weakling like you, not a chance!"

"Oh yeah!"

"Yeah!"

In the next few minutes, they just insulted each other, supressing the desire to thrash each other.

* * *

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* * *

"Girls, let's go!" Professor Utonium shouted.

Blossom was about to reply to Brick, Bubbles was about to ask another question to Boomer, while Buttercup was going to make another insult to Butch, but they decided to go down to the professor and continue their arguments another day.

"See 'ya," Blossom said to Brick, who didn't reply, but coldly watched her leave.

"Thanks," Bubbles said.

"You're welcome," Boomer said with no emotion.

"Good riddance," Buttercup said.

"At least there's three less trash in this room," Butch said.

The girls left, and the boys had only slightly higher opinion of their counterparts, while the girls had a new respect for the boys. The meeting, though filled with bitterness, was a sign of improvement, since it is the first meeting between the boys and girls that didn't involve a fight.

"Three quarters says your SUV sucks," challenged Boomer as soon as the girls left.

"You're on!" Brick said, and they resumed their playing.

* * *

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* * *

Downstairs…

"So how was it?" the Professor asked.

"Well it wasn't too bad," Blossom said. "They forgave us, after all, but it wasn't too good either."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make them our friends and allies soon enough!" Bubbles enthusiastically said.

"What do you mean?" asked Blossom.

"Cause you promised me a few days ago that you if there is ever a chance that they could be pulled from the side of evil, and become good superheroes like us, you'd promise that you would do everything that you can to make them our friends and allies."

Blossom then remembered the promise she earlier made to Bubbles, and she slapped her head. 'Me and my big mouth!' she thought.

"You have your work cut out for you," Bubbles observed. "But don't worry, I'll help you."

After that, they went and followed the professor to the car.

* * *

**Author Thanks:**

* * *

To **Linkin Park Fan,**yup, hurrah for the girls! I agree. Good thing that the girls got back their reputations.

* * *

To **nightglider-star,**well, the girls never beat up another set of superheroes live on TV before, nor did a Harold Smith attempted to destroy the reputation of the girls in the manner that he did before. They were just too shocked that they easily fell prey to demagogues like Harold Smith. Luckily, the professor and Blossom restored their senses.

* * *

To **Stupid head stupid,**well, the girls weren't evil in the first place.

* * *

To **Hairy Gregory,** you have to remember that Bubbles never physically harmed any of the boys during the third encounter and defied Blossom several times. Ha, about Smith, though I think they deserved a harsher punishment, but it would do.

* * *

To **DL23400,**well, you have to remember a couple of things. First, think of the level of intelligence of the citizens of Townsville. Second, they didn't know about the monster alliance. Third, the Professor reminded them of the girls past service. Fourth, the girls sincerely apologized. Fifth, even if the town was destroyed, we must remember that in that episode where the girls used Dynamo, Townsville was also destroyed yet the people forgave the girls. In this case, the town thinks the girls had no part in the monster attacks. Sixth, granted that what the girls did was mad, Townsville didn't think it so, or if they did, they forgave them anyway when Blossom apologized.

* * *

To **BrYtt BRatt,**I agree on you on the citizens. Well, I simply assumed that they have fingers (actually, it was an oversight on my part). Well, the monsters ended the alliance themselves by betraying the girls during the fight.

* * *

To **Ud the Imp,**thanks. As for the people of Townsville, given their past record, it's highly unlikely. And about the future, just read on. This chapter gives a lot of hints on what will happen.

* * *

To **Uncle Sam,**once again thanks. As for the boys forgiving the girls, this chapter answers that question.

* * *

To **Sum-jackass**, if there was a firing squad, everything would be perfect! LOL. As for the girls thinking about their reputations more about the boys, remember that the town was their audience, and their reputation with the citizens are very important to them. But I agree. They should have mentioned the boys more often than they did.

* * *

To **TJ Rose,**I'm glad too. Yup, it wasn't easy at all, as they discovered in this chapter.

* * *

To **Somewei,**wow, I never realized my writing could elicit such emotion. I'm honored by your comments. As for the boys forgiving the girls, it's in this chapter.

* * *

To **Dooly,**yup, he is. Ha, I agree with their being cute enough. As for Dr. Edwards, you're right. He is the opposite of the Professor in some ways, yet similar in others.

* * *

To **Big, big Napkin, **(after finger is snapped) must make more chapters…

* * *

To **Piggy ham beef**, thanks.

* * *

To **Ivygreen,**thanks for considering my humble story. As for it having grammatical errors, I do apologize as it is my first story, and I wasn't very good at checking errors.


	20. New Beginnings

**Allies and Rivals**

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls

This is the last chapter of Allies and Rivals. Enjoy.

**Chapter 20**

**New Beginnings**

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The City of Townsville, and it was preparing to honor their new superheroes, the Rowdyruff Boys.

It was August 31.

The Mayor and Ms. Bellum were in the Mayor's office, planning tomorrow's event.

"Well, looks like we'll again honor those precious little girls!" the Mayor remarked.

"Um sir, tomorrow isn't exactly another ceremony honoring the Powerpuff Girls," Ms. Bellum said.

"It's not?" the Mayor replied. "Well you're wrong, my dear Ms. Bellum. The Powerpuffs are precious little girls."

"Sir, we're not honoring the precious little Powerpuff Girls. We're honoring the Rowdyruff Boys!"

"Um, so the Rowdyruff Boys are precious little girls? I don't get it!"

"Mayor, the Rowdyruff Boys are not precious little girls. They're tough boys who saved the city the other day from monsters and have been saving the day for the past two weeks."

"Uh, the Powerpuff Girls turned into boys and renamed themselves the Rowdyruff Boys! Well, good for them!"

"Sir, the Rowdyruff Boys are boys, and are different from the Powerpuff Girls. They were once evil, yet Dr. William Edwards managed to change them for the better, and now are superheroes."

"The Powerpuff Girls were once evil? Good thing they changed!" the Mayor asserted. "Now, we won't have to fear them committing evil acts of villainy!"

"Oh I give up. Could you just please sign this paper authorizing me to conduct a ceremony honoring the boys?" Ms. Bellum asked, showing the Professor a piece of paper with dotted lines where he was to sign.

"Whatever you say, Ms. Bellum," the Mayor said as he signed the paper. "But I still don't get it! If the good Rowdyruff Boys were the former evil Powerpuff Girls? And I was wondering where to get the money to rebuild Townsville."

"Not to worry sir. Dr. Edwards agreed to loan us $1 billion in order to help us rebuild the city."

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Meanwhile…

Dr. Edwards was in his office that afternoon, in the middle of some high business meeting with some of his business associates.

"Are you craze, Doctor? One billion dollars?" Mr. Thanatos Blockhead exclaimed when he heard the doctor's loan.

"Don't worry," Dr. Edwards explained. "It's a loan. They'll pay me back. And besides, it has an interest of 15%. Plus, the money would speed the recovery of the central business district, which would allow the people to financially recover, which means they would be able to buy again my products and they'll give me another part of their money when part of their taxes would go to pay their debt to me. Another thing, in return, the city agreed to give me the tough metallic hide of one of the monsters."

"You're right about the debt thing, but why would you want to get a worthless hide?" asked a sceptical Mr. Blockhead.

"Because, Blockhead, that metallic hide is made of something tougher than diamonds and duranium. I'm gonna find out what it is, and when I do, I'll grab another Nobel Prize for chemistry and I'll either sell it to the government for a hefty prize, or I'll mass produce the metal and sell it to manufacturers. There's no other metal like this and they will all dance to my tune just to get their hands on it. I'll rake in at least $10 billion dollars if this succeeds."

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"This is Sara Bellum, William. I called you because tomorrow, the Mayor would personally thank the girls in behalf of the city. Since I've arranged that the event be covered by the press, can you spare tomorrow morning for the event?"

"Of course," Dr. Edwards said.

"Good. Please prepare for some remarks to the audience, and tell Brick to prepare his speech to the people. Thanks and goodbye," Ms. Bellum said before hanging up.

'This is great! Now my boys will be accepted into my hometown, and will have a bright future,' he thought, his face plastered with a very wide grin. His face then morphed into a serious expression, as doubts began to creep into his mind. 'Oh no! My boys hate the town and its citizens, and they have shown that they won't hesitate to express it,' Dr. Edwards thought, remembering Brick's story when he was about to insult the crowd but luckily collapsed before he was able to do so.

"But what about the board meeting tomorrow?" asked Blockhead.

"Cancel it!" Dr. Edwards said. "Reschedule it for September 2."

"But sir! They'll all complain."

"Damn their complaints! They've got a lot of nerve. The meeting will not be held tomorrow and the board of directors could just curl up in a corner and cry if they don't like it. Of course, you'll phrase it in a more dignified language when you tell them."

"Yes sir," Blockhead said.

"And I'm taking the rest of the day off. Tell Clark to tell the rest of the board members that," Dr. Edwards said. "I'm going to prepare for tomorrow."

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Meanwhile…

"Girls, Ms. Bellum just called," Professor Utonium said. "She says that you are invited to a ceremony honoring the Rowdyruff Boys and officially making them superheroes of the city. Could you call Dr. Edwards for me?"

The girls were surprised.

"So the boys will get medals?" Buttercup said.

"Yeah, lucky jerks," Blossom added.

"I don't think they're jerks, and they deserve those medals," Bubbles asserted.

"They're jerks, but you're right Bubbles, they do deserve those medals!" Blossom said as she got the phone and dialled Dr. Edwards' number.

"Hello," said Brick.

"Hi Brick! Can I please speak to Dr. Edwards?"

"He's at work," Brick coldly said, and was about to hung-up the phone when he suddenly heard Blossom.

"Wait Brick, I've got to tell you something," Blossom said.

"What?" asked Brick in a flat monotone.

"Don't you know that the town's going to give you medals for saving the day? They're going to make you official superheroes?"

"And your point is?" asked Brick in an uninterested manner.

"Aren't you excited?" asked Blossom.

"What's to be excited about? Tell whoever told you that that this ruff and his brothers will not accept a piece of metal for something that I did only for my Dad. You accept it instead, since you're so gung-ho about being a superhero." Brick then hung-up the phone.

"Uh oh, I think things are not going to look pretty tomorrow," Blossom said, and told her sisters what Brick told her.

"And we'll just sit back and enjoy the show," Buttercup said. "Ha, who would have thought that those idiots would mess themselves up this early?"

"No we won't. We can't let them slip up this early. We have to help them become better superheroes," Bubbles argued.

"Wrong Bubbles," Buttercup said. "We don't need to help them become superheroes. They already proved that they can kick some butt and can save the day, so why should we help them still?"

"Because, they might be as strong as us, and have better cooperation, and can kick the monsters butts, and can still win even if outnumbered and weaker," Blossom said to Buttercup. "But they don't know how to act as superheroes to the public. They don't know how to behave. Heck, they don't even want to admit they're superheroes?"

"And what you're suggesting is?" Buttercup said.

"We teach them and guide them on the ways of being a superhero!" Blossom replied. "Under my leadership, they'll be good model superhero boys under our supervision!"

"And how are you sure they'll follow you, Miss Goody two shoes?" Buttercup challenged sceptically.

"I'm not sure, it may or it may not involve the doctor, but rest assured, when I think of a plan, I'll have the boys wrapped around my finger."

"I sure hope your new plan doesn't lead to disaster!" Buttercup said.

"Of course not," Blossom said. Then with a straight face, she cockily added, "my plans never fail!"

Buttercup and Bubbles just rolled their eyes at Blossom.

"Now we can be friends with them and they can be true superheroes!" Bubbles exclaimed, leaping and jumping. "Let's go to their house!"

"We can't, dummy!" the toughest puff said. "We're grounded!"

"Oh yeah," the blond puff replied, "But Blossom could call and ask the boys to come over? What do you think Blossom?"

"Well, I don't know," she said.

"Uh c'mon Blossom," Bubbles said. "You promised!"

"Okay, okay," Blossom said as she grabbed the phone and dialled again the Edwards's phone number.

"Hello, Edwards family residence," she heard Brick answer.

"Hello Brick, it's me," Blossom said.

Brick just sighed. He was irritated by the phone calls. "What do you want this time?" he said in a harsh tone.

"Um Brick, would you like to come over here to our house? We would like to talk to you?" she asked in the most polite voice she could muster.

She heard a guffaw, a chuckle and a snort. "Sure, why not? Of course! Me and my brothers will love to come."

Blossom's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah, and my mother's the queen of Egypt. No, you imbecile, we won't go to your stupid house. Why would we ever go to a house to be with such weak girly morons like you? Ha, that would be the day!" Brick insulted, and hung up the phone. He also neglected to tell that another reason why he and his brothers could not go was because they were also grounded.

Blossom was furious and steam was ready to come out of her head. 'Okay Blossom, just calm down. Breathe slowly, and count to ten. Don't let him get to you. It's only Brick, and he isn't worth it.' She then slowly returned the phone. It worked. She didn't blow up, yet she was still angry at Brick.

"Well, they can't go here," Blossom said.

"Oh, then how—I know, let's tell the Professor the problem," Bubbles suggested.

"That's a good idea, Bubbles," Blossom said. "Professor!"

"I don't know why you're even trying," Buttercup derisively said.

"Yes girls," John Utonium said, emerging from the laboratory. "Did you call William?"

"We did, but he wasn't home. But we need your help in something else…" and Blossom and Bubbles told the Professor their problem with the boys.

"Um, I'll see what I can do," he said. He then got the phone and called the Rowdyruff Boys.

"Hello," he heard Brick say.

"This is Professor Utonium, the creator and father of the Powerpuff Girls and one of the foremost scientists in Townsville. I would like to say that I have the honor to announce that you and your brothers will be the guest of honor in an ceremony making you official superheroes of Townsville and I and the rest of the city would appreciate it if you would come," he said, trying to impress the boys with a voice of authority.

"With all due respect, Professor, if you had talked to your daughters, you would know that my brothers and I would decline such an offer for it is inappropriate. So please stop with the phone calls already," Brick said, then hung up.

"They declined it! Oh well, better tell Ms. Bellum to call add more confetti and streamers. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day for the city and for the boys!" Professor Utonium said, seemingly unconcerned.

"But Professor," Bubbles began.

"Don't worry girls," the Professor replied. "I'm sure that tomorrow the boys will come and accept the honor. I'm also sure William would be thrilled about the news."

"Okay, but can we go out and try to talk to them in their home?" asked Blossom.

"Yes, pretty please, with sugarlumps on top?" Bubbles seconded.

"Oh, you three are so precious, and so cute. I would love to," he said. The girls beamed, but the Professor's tone immediately changed. "BUT YOU'RE GROUNDED, SO YOU CAN'T!" he shouted. "So go on do the things kids do," he said, his tone returning to pleasant.

"This isn't good!" Blossom said. Bubbles concurred while Buttercup thought both of them were crazy.

'If those boys wanna screw up, why would we stop them?' she thought.

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* * *

Meanwhile…

Dr. Edwards arrived in his house a couple of minutes later. "Boys, I have news. Tomorrow, the town will make you official heroes of the city and you'll get nice new medals too!"

"The nerve of those people!" Butch ranted. "Making us superheroes and giving us medals!"

"As if we did all those things for them, the idiotic people of Townsville!" Brick added. "I'd rather insult them rather than accept anything from them. And imagine us, superheroes?" He then began laughing. "Give me a break. If it isn't for you Dad, those people would be monster chow, and we would not even lift a finger to stop it."

"What was worse was those girls calling us about it! As if to add insult to injury! And Blossom, that damned girl—has the gall to call here and tell us about it!" Boomer said.

"So you already know about it?" Dr. Edwards said.

"You bet we did, Dad. Those girls called us, but I told them off," Brick proudly said. "I told them that the city could keep its medals, and we don't need to be considered superheroes!"

"You did what?" Dr. Edwards nearly shouted, who can't believe what his boys just did.

"We told her to buzz off, and even Professor Utonium called us, and fearless leader here told him to take a hike," Butch proclaimed.

"And why should we accept those awards?" argued Brick. "Those people are utter idiots, imbeciles, morons, and retards. They'd even repeatedly elected a mayor with an IQ lower than a dog. They can't take care of themselves for crying out loud! To hell with the Townies. We're just doing what we did to protect you and your properties all over this city, to prove how loyal and grateful we are to you Dad!"

"And those girls!" Boomer said. "Bubbles is the only one tolerable among them, but the other two, especially Blossom, just makes my blood boil! After what they did! Just because Brick forgave them doesn't give them the right to tell us what and what not to do! They'll just have to be reminded that we could beat them in any fair fight if we wanted to."

"Well, can't say I don't agree with you," Dr. Edwards said. "This town has a collective IQ lower than that of training flea. And good job on telling the professor off. And I can't blame you for feeling that way for the girls. However, you must forget about the past and move on. Don't let emotions influence your decisions. You must be rational in your decisions, even if it would make you cold-blooded. See if it would benefit you. Now, as for the ceremony tomorrow, I know you dislike the people, but it would benefit you more if you accept it than if you reject it. SO I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU ACCEPT IT."

"But Dad—"

"I'm telling you to accept it, whether you like it or not!" Dr. Edwards thundered. "Besides, I would be even more proud of you three if you do."

"Yes Dad," the three finally said, defeated.

"Good. Prepare to make some remarks to the people tomorrow."

With that, Dr. Edwards went to his lab to further test the monster hide.

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* * *

That night…

"Dad, look at the speech I made," Brick said, handing his father a piece of paper with his remarks printed on it. With him were his brothers who helped him.

_"Citizens of Townsville,_

_Do not flatter yourselves into thinking that by coming here, I accept the fact that I am a "superhero" to save your worthless hides. No, I did not save you because I love you, or care about you, like these first set of girly superheroes do. Why would I save a bunch of idiots, morons, imbeciles like you? I mean you can't chew gum and walk at the same time, your combined IQ's is a single digit number, you've got a common sense of a clown? You're lucky that you're living in the same town as our father, Dr. William Edwards…"_

Dr. Edwards crumpled the paper and threw it in the waste basket.

"Brick," he began, "I don't think insulting the people is a very good idea. You want to have a new life, don't you Brick?"

"Yes Dad," the three answered.

"Then you can't go around insulting everybody you see just because you think they're idiots. At least pretend that you like them, or at lease, refrain from showing your contempt at them."

"But Dad, I don't want to lie," Brick reasoned.

"Then tone it down at least. Just tell the parts which will not insult them, and try to make them feel good. I know it's difficult to do, but you just have to do it."

"Yes Dad," the three said.

"And remember that test you took a few months ago?" Dr. Edwards said.

"What about it, Dad," the asked.

"Well son, it's actually an entrance examination for Pokey Oakes Elementary. All of you passed with flying colors and are now eligible for enrolment in the first grade. In fact, you've all gotten into the top six. Here's the result:" he then gave the paper to the boys.

William Bricker Edwards Jr. 99.97

Blossom Utonium 99.94

James Boomer Edwards 96.54

Bubbles Utonium 94.26

Buttercup Utonium 94.20

Wilbur Butch Utonium 93.00

"We're going to school?" Bricks said.

"Yes. Aren't you excited?"

"But Dad, why would we go to school? We know most of those things they teach, and you can teach us what we don't know."

"Well, you need to go to school if you want to take over my corporation when you grow up. And by going to school, you can again show how superior you are to the Powerpuff Girls."

The boys accepted it, but it doesn't mean they liked the idea of going to school.

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* * *

It was the morning of September 1.

A crowd of citizens have gathered in front of Townsville Hall. The Mayor was in a podium, with Ms. Bellum besides him. At his left were the Professor, and the girls sitting on three chairs, wearing their usual clothes and dresses. On his right were four empty chairs, reserved for Dr. Edwards and the Rowdyruff Boys. Above was a giant banner with the words, 'THANK YOU ROWDYRUFF BOYS, OUR NEW SUPERHEROES' on them. The crowd has various placards saying 'Thanks RRB' and 'Welcome back, Dr. Edwards,' and 'Go RRB' and such.

"Professor, why haven't they arrived yet?" Blossom asked the professor, remembering her conversation with her counterpart yesterday, worried that they won't show up.

"Don't worry," the Professor said. "I'm sure they'll arrive."

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After ten minutes…

"Professor, do you think we might go and fetch them," asked a concerned Bubbles.

"No, they'll arrive, trust me on this," said the Professor.

"But—"

But before Bubbles could finish, Dr. Edwards' car arrived.

Boomer and Butch were the first to go out the car. They were arguing about something, but stopped when they saw the crowd staring at them.

The girls were surprised at the clothes the boys were wearing. Instead of wearing their usual clothes, each of them was wearing a suit and tie. The difference was that Butch was wearing a green set, with a black tie, and his coat was unbuttoned while Boomer wore a blue one, and a red tie, with his coat buttoned. They look very sharp in those clothes, the girls admitted.

A few seconds later, Brick and Dr. Edwards emerged from the front seats. Brick was wearing a red coat and tie, but unlike his brothers, was wearing a vest and a hat, just like his father. 'Brick looks like his father when he's wearing those,' Blossom thought. His father wore a black set of clothes, complete with vest and hat, with a blue tie.

Boomer was starting to sweat when he saw all those eyes staring at them. Butch just glared at the crowd while Brick had a neutral expression.

A few seconds later, the crowd erupted into cheers, surprising the boys. Boomer's sweating ended, and he began to wave back to the crowd, clearly enjoying himself. Butch continued to glare, while Brick smirked. Confetti and streamers began falling all around them. Soon, they were led to the steps of Townsville Hall and sat on the right of the Mayor's podium, with Dr. Edwards and Brick removing their hats.

"Citizens of Townsville, it gives me great pleasure in honoring the Rowdyruff Boys and to officially make them new heroes of Townsville. To officially welcome them today are the current superheroes, the Powerpuff Girls! So Blossom, it's your turn," the Mayor then stepped down and Blossom went over to the podium.

The crowd cheered.

"Citizens of Townsville," Blossom began as the cheering subsided, "as the leader of the foremost superheroes of Townsville, I would like to say that I would always protect Townsville from evildoers. To the Rowdyruff Boys, as new superheroes, I would remind you that you should always serve the city and protect it at all costs against all enemies, external and internal, and love the city and its citizens. As you are probably inexperienced in the ways of a superhero, I, Blossom Utonium, commander and the leader of the greatest superhero team in the world, would teach you and guide you in the ways of being a hero. I would make sure you would be as experienced and good as yours truly, and would use your powers properly."

'Like hell you would,' Brick thought. 'We won't follow your orders.'

"She's got enough hot air to launch an airship airborne," Boomer whispered to Butch.

"For once, I agree with you," Butch whispered back.

Even Dr. Edwards, who normally was sympathetic to the girls, was put off by Blossom's remarks. 'Who does she think she is, presuming she could lecture my sons?'

"And now, to present the medals to the boys, me and my sisters would give them to our counterparts the medals they deserve," Blossom continued. "Boomer, would you go in front of the podium please?"

Boomer stood, and the crowd cheered. He waved at the crowd as he walked in front of the podium. Bubbles stood up and went to where Boomer was, and she pinned to his coat a shiny gold medal with a ribbon hanging on it. Then to the surprise of everybody, she gave a peck on Boomer's cheek. Bubbles then giggled, then returned to her seat.

Boomer, like so many times in the past, was caught off guard by Bubbles' actions. He blushed, then took a handkerchief and wiped his cheek. 'Yuck, now I have cooties,' he thought, shuddering, 'Why the hell did she do that? Now Brick and Butch will never lay off me.'

"Butch, you're next," Blossom said, herself giggling at the event. 'Ha, now I've something to tease Bubbles with.'

Butch walked besides the Boomer. Buttercup then went where the green ruff was, and pinned the medal on his coat. She did, however, press it too hard, with the result of the pin of the medal going right through the cloth and piercing Butch's skin.

"Take that," she whispered to Butch.

"I'll get you for that!" Butch replied.

"You wish," Buttercup said, and returned to her seat.

Butch fought the urge to lunge after Buttercup and beat her to a pulp.

"And finally Brick," she said as she stepped out of the podium. Brick then walked towards her, in a straight, dignified manner.

"I thought you'd never accept a piece of metal for something you did for your Dad," Blossom whispered as she pinned the medal in Brick's coat.

"I was just testing you to find out if I can fool you. Turns out you're the gullible type," Brick replied, also whispering. "Besides, accepting this medal would make my father more proud of us, and that alone would outweigh my initial disgust of it."

"Well, it's your turn to speak to the people. I suggest you keep your ego in check and refrain from insulting the audience."

"I don't need to take any advice from you," Brick replied.

"Just remember the future, Brick. Don't mess this one up. If not for the people, then for your Dad."

The crowd roared wildly as Brick stepped behind the podium. He waved a little, despite his attitude, to acknowledge the cheers. It soon subsided enough for Brick to begin.

"Citizens of Townsville," he began, but was interrupted as the crowd roared again at the sound of his voice. He had to wait a minute before the cheers of the crowd died down.

In their seats, Blossom was worried that Brick might make a stupid remark, or worse, a speech telling the people how stupid they were.

"I would like to say, with all due respect, that me and my brothers don't deserve these medals, for we don't consider ourselves superheroes," he began.

"Don't be so modest!" one of the people in the crowd shouted.

"Yeah! You're superheroes!" another shouted.

Brick ignored them as he continued. "We don't consider ourselves superheroes because what we did was for us as natural as going to the bathroom. What we did, we did because it was our duty to our father, Dr. William Edwards. We don't deserve these medals, but still, we accept it, because it would show our outmost gratitude to the man who changed our lives the most, and for the better. If there's anybody who deserves these medals and your thanks, it is my father, not us."

"Finally, I would like to say, that, even if we don't want you to call us superheroes, we still would do our duty to save the city."

Dr. Edwards was very proud of his sons at that moment. 'They succeeded in voicing out their true feelings without insulting Townsville. I'm very proud of you, my sons.'

The crowd erupted into cheers, even as Brick looked at them in contempt. 'Look at them, so stupid, so gullible,' he thought as he went back to his seat.

And so ends the journey of the Rowdyruff Boys for acceptance by the people of Townsville, the Powerpuff Girls, and themselves, at least outwardly, towards the people of Townsville. Dr. Edwards' dream came true. His sons were now socially acceptable, and what's more, they were heroes. They were also finally accepted by the Powerpuff Girls, and they accepted the fact that they would have to live with them.

The boys had by this time changed enormously. They no longer crave to beat up the Powerpuff Girls, nor to cause chaos and destruction for its own sake. They love and were extremely loyal to their father. They no longer just insult anybody for its own sake, and they now protect Townsville, even if it was for selfish reasons. In short, they have changed for the better.

However, much remained the same. They disliked the Powerpuff Girls, more so after the third fight. They were still contemptuous of the people of Townsville. They still do many good things only as a favor to their father, not because they thought it was right. Their standard of right and wrong was what their father tells them.

Much more would happen, but that is for another story.

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**THE END**

So overall, now that it's finished, how was the story? The characters? The plot? Please tell me so I can improve my next story.

At last, I finished writing this story. I decided to end it because the purpose of this fic, to reintroduce the Rowdyruff Boys, to get them to be accepted by the Powerpuff Girls and the city, and for them to change sufficiently so they be acceptable, for them to at least tolerate the girls, is accomplished.

Thanks to all my reviewers. And just so you would know, I am planning another story to continue. Can you guess what will happen? I bet you can't!

And if you have any questions on this chapter, or of the story itself, just ask them, and I'll post one last chapter devoting to answering the questions and of the author thanks for this chapter.

Again, to all the readers, thank you for reading my story.

* * *

**Author Thanks**

* * *

To **Uncle Sam,**thanks for the compliments. And thanks for the review. Yup, this chapter answered your next question.

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To **Ud the Imp**, well, they did, but not totally. As for Bubbles' crushes, let's just say you might or might not be correct (though this chapter kinda answers it). And I've ended this story. Hope you like it!

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To **Akum,** wow, you reviewed. Thanks!

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To **Hairy Gregory, **that's one way to put how the boys feel! As for the crushes, I'm not telling! Yup it did, didn't it (about the story coming to a natural end)?

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To **sum-jackass**, well, they did, didn't they? As to it evolving into romance, well, maybe, maybe not! And I just finished it.

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To **Ivygreen,**your right about Blossom's plans not always succeeding. And thanks.

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To **Spiritual Tao,**thanks for reading and reviewing.

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To **TJ Rose,** Yup it's nice of them. As for Bubbles rubbing off on Boomer, well maybe you can read the next story. Yup, the boys did change a lot, but a lot remained the same.

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To **SupersayainkingTommy,**long time no see. Well, I continued!

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To **nightglider-star,** sorry for the long speeches. I usually use them because I feel it better conveys the emotions and the feelings of the person talking than just one-liners. Though if you noticed, I'd try limiting it to Brick, Blossom, Dr. Edwards and Professor Utonium. And thanks, though could you be a little more elaborate on what you mean by my sense of organization?

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To **Dooly,**well, they are little kids! Well, it didn't really. As they said, they accepted it because it is in their self-interest to do so, not because they really felt sorry for the girls, though it was somehow cleared enough when the girls went after them. As for the PPG gaining a new respect for the boys, it is because they saw a new side of the boys. They saw that in many ways, they're just like them. As for the boys, the memories of the fight were still lingering. Their opinions of the boys improved because of the girls' apology, thought not as much because they were still bitter. As for the alliance, well, read the next story to find out!

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To **Somewei,** thanks. Well, not in their hearts, but in their heads. Well, Blossom is the leader!

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To **Bubblebean022,**wow, thanks for the great compliments.

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To **BrYtt BRatt,**thanks. Yup, it isn't, but it'll be for another story.


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